Welcome to Existence
by windwingxs
Summary: COMPLETE. Zero returns to the Dark Elf's chamber to find X's remains, and is sent back to the EXE era! What's going to happen to the red Reploid? A MMZ2-Evangelion-MM battle network crossover. Read and Review please!
1. painful visions

Um... Hi. This is my first MegaMan fiction, so be easy on me, OK? I haven't played any of the battle network games yet, but I've become a big fan of the fiction's written about them. Props to the Netto & Maylu pairings(yes, this means you Sailorjj07)! Anyway, I know basically nothing about the series, so I won't be using any of the main characters till I learn more about how they act.(If you would be so kind, check my bio and E- mail me some information. Thanks!) I don't own anything except for the fic. MegaMan Zero and MegaMan battle network belong to Capcom.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------  
  
Vash had wanted a Navi since he was a kid, but his family was in the middle class, so he could never afford one. He had begged his parents to buy him one, but it had never happened. However, one rather warm Christmas eve, his parents somehow got together enough money to buy him a PET. He still didn't have a personal Navi, just the kind that comes with the PET when you buy them. Vash resolved to make himself a custom Navi, and he succeded in making MagnetMan.EXE. Fate, however, had something else in mind for Vash...  
  
------  
  
Vash was against the wall of the school gym. He suddenly realized being the school nerd wasn't the greatest thing in the world. Another fist suddenly pounded into his stomach. Laughter echoed in his ears as the bullies pounded both him and his Navi. He heard the familiar tone of his Navi logging out. He tried to move to help his Navi, but his bleeding leg wouldn't let him.  
  
"So long wimp!" one of the bullies called. "Hope you like what we did to your Navi!" the group erupted in laugher and walked off, leaving a beaten Vash to recover.  
  
"Great... I guess they deleted my Navi... I'm so sorry MagnetMan..." Vash spoke to his deleted Navi. The blank screen of his PET only served to remind him how weak he was...  
  
------  
  
"Zero! Welcome back!" Ciel glomped onto Zero like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Uh... Hi Ciel. I missed you to." Zero blushed, but recovered before anyone noticed. "Ciel, about Elipizo, I..."  
  
"You mean..." Ciel started. Tears were forming in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah. He released Dark Elf, but I was still able to stop him. Dark Elf... She turned Elipzio into a Cyber Elf. I think I know Dark El-." Zero stopped, holding back his theory. From what his incomplete memories could tell, Dark Elf could have been...  
  
"Zero, it's OK. I knew that he probably wouldn't be coming back, not after that message. I wonder if he'll find us on his own..."  
  
Zero didn't want to rush Ciel, but he wanted to go back and look for X. He knew it would take some time before she would be happy again, but he knew he could wait for that. Seeing her smile filled him with 'happiness', or the Reploid equivalent.  
  
"Ciel, is it possible to transfer me directly into the Dark Elf's chamber?"  
  
"Yes, I believe so. Can you prepare the transfer pad?"  
  
One of the tech's started typing away on her console, and soon the chamber was flashing red. "Coordinates set! Ready for transfer!"  
  
"Zero, be careful. I don't want to lose you too..."  
  
"Transfer start!" Another tech yelled.  
  
"I will Ciel. Don't worry, I can handle myself." Zero disappeared from the transfer pad in a flash of light, leaving Ciel standing alone in the command center.  
  
------  
  
Zero stood alone in the Dark Elf's chamber. The chamber was dark now. Zero guessed that the Dark elf had left the area. Zero's helmet jewel flashed on, illuminating the immediate area. He quickly found what he was searching for. X, once the best Maverick Hunter in existence, lay dead in the rubble of the Dark Elf's container.  
  
"So, old friend, what happens now? I've beaten Neo Arcadia again, and I released the Dark Elf, and I even might have fallen in love..."  
  
"Well Zero, you still haven't died yet." X suddenly appeared next to his dead form. Zero was stunned at his appearance. "That was a joke Zero. You can't die just yet. For one thing, you would be leaving Ciel all alone."  
  
"X, when will I finally get my memory back?"  
  
"Right now. Inside that copy body, there is a memory chip that has all your memories."  
  
"IT WAS ANOTHER COPY?!? DUDE, HOW MANY COPIES OF YOURSELF DO YOU HAVE?" Zero opened up Copy X's damaged chest and found his memories.  
  
"Um... That's not what I'm here to talk about Zero. I need you to go into the past."  
  
"What? Who, when, why, how?"  
  
"You have to go back in time to start your own existence. That explains the 'why'. The Who is in your memory chip, and the how is Dark Elf. The when, even I don't know. All that explains the what."  
  
Zero, who was now confused at X's rambling, Shook his head and inserted his memory chip into his body. He suddenly started to remember his life, starting with Meeting X, to going into stasis. "X... You... How..."  
  
"Don't question it. Just get ready." X left without another word. A bright light filled the room, as the Dark Elf descended again.  
  
"Zero... I miss you..."  
  
"What?" His vision was suddenly filled with light. His last thought was a name. 'Iris!'  
  
------  
  
Vash was at home. His bodily wounds had healed, but his soul was still deeply scared. MagnetMan.EXE was gone, and he could do nothing about it. MagnetMan was so strong, but without direction, he was helpless. That's why he had lost to the weaker Navi's the bullies had. If only...  
  
Vash's thought were interrupted by a strange noise coming from his PET. He looked over to see a Navi sitting in the screen. "Where am I?" The Navi said.  
  
"Huh? Who are you?" Vash asked. "And why are you in my PET?"  
  
"Listen kid, I don't even know what this 'pet' thing IS."  
  
"Wait, aren't you a Navi?"  
  
"A what?"  
  
"An internet navigator."  
  
"Oh. I don't think I am, but I'm not sure..."  
  
"Well, your in my PET, so I would assume so."  
  
'Is this what X meant by starting my existence? Was I a Navi at first?' Zero thought. "OK, so I'm a Navi. Who are you?"  
  
"Um, my name's Vash. I was the operator of a Navi called MagnetMan, but..."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I was too weak to protect him, and without my battle chips, he was deleted. I... I couldn't stop the bullies from taking him from me, and they- " Tears started to well up in his eyes.  
  
"Oh. Sorry I asked, curiosity got the best of me. What day is it, anyway?"  
  
"Well, last time I checked, it was the tenth of august, in 2018."  
  
"Really... I thought- Wait, never mind."  
  
"Hey, I never got your name. What is it?"  
  
"The name is Zero. MegaMan Zero."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------  
  
Hey, that was pretty fun to write. I really like this story-line, so if you want me to continue, please send me some info on how the whole Navi thing works. I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of MM Battle Network, but in the mean time, I'll have to go by what I've read in other fictions. Thanks for reading, and please review! 


	2. battle against life

Hi. Yeah, sorry if there is some OOCness in the story, but as I said in the first chapter, I have no idea what the character's act like in the game. Help me if you want to, but please review. Anything and everything MegaMan belongs to Capcom.  
  
*this is a repost. I forgot to proof read, which I suck at, so please forgive any spelling errors or confusing things you see.*  
  
--------------  
  
Zero had gotten used to being a Navi over the weekend, but now it was time for school.  
  
"Vash. Wake up. Vash. VASH, WAKE UP!"  
  
There was a resounding crash as Vash fell of his bed. "Thanks for the wake up Zero." Vash said sarcastically. After getting dressed, Vash picked up his PET, ate breakfast, and ran off to school. He slid to a halt when he noticed several of the popular kids from school. Fearing rejection, he started to slide behind a fence when Zero stopped him.  
  
"Kid, you can't be afraid. If people don't like you because your who you are, that's their issue."  
  
"But, what if they challenge us to a Net Battle?"  
  
"Then I'll kick their face in."  
  
"But I don't have any strong Chips, and that Netto guy has a really strong Navi..."  
  
"Does that matter? I need the experience in this 'Net Battling' thing."  
  
"All right... What Chips are you good with?"  
  
"Chips?"  
  
"Abilities and weapons, remember?"  
  
"Oh. I think I would do good with Sword skills."  
  
"OK..." Vash walked out from behind the fence. He walked up to the group, and immediately noticed Lan Hikari in the group. "Hi..." Vash muttered weakly.  
  
"Hey, aren't you that Vash kid who got beat up?" It wasn't Lan who replied, but a kid named Dex.  
  
"Yeah. What about it?"  
  
"Heh, I bet your so weak in real life that you suck even worse in Net Battles!"  
  
"Dex! That's really mean!" A girl walked up and hit Dex over the head. "Sorry about that. Dex can be a little hard headed. My name's Maylu."  
  
"Hello Miss Maylu." Vash said, ignoring the fuming Dex.  
  
"Hey! Don't you get all gentlemanly around Maylu! I challenge you to a Net Battle!" Dex almost shoved Maylu out of the way.  
  
"Uh..." Vash stuttered.  
  
"Sure, why not?" Zero said from the PET.  
  
"OK..." Vash said. He unclipped The pet from his belt, and started the Net battle.  
  
------  
  
Zero found himself on a grid structure. Moment's later, a buff looking Navi appeared across the grids. half of the grids turned red, and half changed to yellow. The word's 'Battle Start', appeared between them.  
  
"Gut's think your a weakling, Guts!"  
  
"Whatever." Zero pulled out his Z-Buster and fired several shots at GutsMan. A few hit, and the lumbering giant grunted in 'pain'.  
  
"Guts, your actually strong. Guess Guts will have to get serious, Gut's."  
  
Gut's man charged forward and socked Zero in the face, sending the Navi/Reploid to the floor. "Nice arm." Zero commented as he got up. "But I can do better!"  
  
"Elec Sword, Slot in!" Vash said. Zero's Z-saber started to glow an electrical yellow.  
  
"Now, my turn!" Zero yelled. He dashed forward, and used Sengatotsu (E.X. Skill of Kuwangust Anchus). Zero's blade crashed into GutsMan's chest, electrical energy surged through him, and he fell to the ground.  
  
"Guts! Your really strong, Guts..." The words 'Log Out' flashed in front of GutsMan, and the Navi disappeared. Zero got a similar warning, and transferred back to the PET.  
  
------  
  
"We lost?" Dex said, rather stunned that he lost so easily.  
  
"Wow. Zero... Your really strong!" Vash said, staring at his PET.  
  
"You thought I wasn't? Ye of little faith." Zero smirked. "That was actually kind of fun."  
  
"Hey you two, we're going to be late if you sit there and fight all day!" It was another girl.  
  
"Whatever, Yai." Dex said. "I still say your a weakling!" Dex yelled over his shoulder.  
  
"Wow... Zero, that was my first real victory at Net Battling. Every other time I've won, it was always down to the wire! Thank-you!"  
  
"No problem kid. Shouldn't we be getting to class?"  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Vash almost dropped his PET when Zero mentioned school, and started running toward the school gate.  
  
------  
  
In class, Vash was trying to stay awake, and had plugged Zero into the school's systems. Zero was walking around the immediate area, looking for something to do, when he noticed the other Navi's looking at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You beat GutsMan. Most of us either don't have the skill or speed to do that." Most of the Navi's were common, store bought types. Zero sighed, then noticed another group of Navi's. Among them was GutsMan.  
  
"Hey GutsMan. What's up?"  
  
GutsMan grunted, then turned and ignored Zero.  
  
"Hey, just cause I beat you doesn't mean that we can't be friends, right?"  
  
"Guts." was his only response.  
  
"GutsMan! Be nice, you know he's a newbie." The speaker was a female Navi. "Hi! My name is Roll! What's your name?"  
  
"Uh, my name is Zero. Nice to meet you Roll."  
  
Roll giggled, "Thanks. These are my other friends. This is Glyde, and this is IceMan, you know GutsMan, and this is MegaMan."  
  
Zero shook each of the Navi's hands, but froze when he turned to MegaMan. "X?" Zero whispered.  
  
"Hm?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing. Nice to meet you." Zero shook MegaMan's hand.  
  
"So, you beat GutsMan? Nice. Most Navi's don't do to well against him on their first battle, but I see your a special case!"  
  
"Thanks. I hear from Vash your no push over yourself. You want to spar sometime?"  
  
"Sure, that would be fun."  
  
A sudden buzzing noise interrupted their talk. "Hey guys, time for lunch!" Roll announced. "I hope we see you again Zero!" She smiled and waved at Zero, who started jogging back to his PET.  
  
------  
  
Vash was sitting all alone again. Zero had asked him if he wanted to sit with Maylu and the others, but Vash was way to shy to even attempt it.  
  
"Come on Vash. I know you think your a loser and all that, but you not, OK?" Zero hated seeing people down themselves. Especially when the person who was downing themselves was taking care of someone else, let alone Zero himself.  
  
"That's just it though, I am a loser. It doesn't matter really. I'll be fine by myself." Vash lied. He wanted the company, but he really feared rejection.  
  
------  
  
"Hey Lan?"  
  
Lan looked down at his PET, "Yeah MegaMan?"  
  
"I was wondering, do you see that Vash kid around?"  
  
"Yeah, he's sitting over by the gym. I wonder why he doesn't sit with anyone..."  
  
"Maybe he doesn't have any friends?"  
  
"Maybe, but I don't think so. There's a group of kids going over to him now."  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"Um... Oh great, the school bullies. But what would they want with him?"  
  
Lan got his answer when one of the bullies socked Vash in his stomach. Several of the other bullies gathered around him and started to beat him up as well!  
  
"Holy Cow! Guy's, Vash is being beat up! We need to help him!"  
  
Lan dashed away from his table, followed by all his friends except Dex, who still harbored feelings against Vash. Before they could reach Vash however, something happened...  
  
------  
  
What happens? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter, so there! might be up tomorrow morning, so check back. 


	3. healing of body and soul

Hi. I still need help with how the characters act, however (I hate sounding weak, but at this point I have no choice). Capcom owns anything and everything MegaMan. If you can spot the slight cross over in this, you get chocolate. MM.... Chocolate...  
  
------  
  
Vash felt another fist impact his chest, knocking the wind out of him again. He dropped Zero's PET, which clattered to the ground. Vash sank to the ground, the pain in his chest was unbearable. He suddenly felt a foot strike his gut, and he passed out from the pain. Before he closed his eyes, he could have sworn he saw a light coming from Zero's PET...  
  
"HA! This kid is so weak. He can't even take a few punches!" The bullies erupted in laughter.  
  
"Hey, back off Vash." A voice said from behind them.  
  
"Who the heck are you?" one of the kids asked.  
  
The man answered with a punch to the kids face, followed by a spin kick to the rest of the group. A few more fierce moves later, the bullies were on the ground. The figure stood above the fallen bullies, but disappeared a second later.  
  
Lan arrived to see a flash of blinding light, but his eyes recovered soon. When he finally did open his eyes, he found the bullies lying on the ground, out cold. Vash was in a heap, his hand outstretched toward his PET. Zero was yelling from the upside-down PET, trying to find out of Vash was all right.  
  
"Hey you! Yeah, you! Is Vash all right?"  
  
"I don't know! Yai, go get the nurse!"  
  
"Sure thing Lan!" Yai said as she started to run.  
  
"Vash! Wake up!" Lan shook the boy vigorously, causing the boy to rouse slightly.  
  
"Ugh... My ribs..."  
  
"Hang in there Vash, Yai's getting help. Just hang in there, OK?"  
  
------ Later... ------  
  
"Well, the good news is that Ikari Vash has little or no permanent damage to his systems. The bad news is that Vash's psyche is shot. He can't take much more of this, and he needs some friends. His Navi seemed to help this, but it probably won't be enough."  
  
"I see." Vash's father said. "Well, I really can't help him there. He purposely avoids confrontation with people, he's really shy, and he can't stand being rejected." Vash's father said. 'Just like I was...'  
  
"What can we do for him?" His mother asked.  
  
"Well, you can talk with those kids that brought him in." The doctor pointed toward four youths in the hallway.  
  
------  
  
Vash woke up in a white room. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about his life. His musing's were interrupted by his Navi.  
  
"Vash! You all right?"  
  
"I'll be fine. What happened? I thought they would have hurt you..."  
  
"Nah, I couldn't see what was going on. The PET landed face down, so I couldn't see what was happening. You sure your going to be all right?"  
  
"Yeah. I'll be fine in a few days. What's the prognosis?"  
  
"You can go home today, but you'll be a little sore for a while. The Doc also says you need some friends." Zero grinned at Vash. "Guess that's what I'm here for."  
  
"Thanks Zero." Vash smiled and tried to laugh, but his chest was sore, so his attempt failed.  
  
"Hm? Oh, sure guys. Vash, looks like you have some visitors."  
  
"Visitors?" Vash raised his eyebrow.  
  
Lan, Maylu, Yai, Tory, and Vash's dad and mom walked into the room. Both Maylu and Yai gave Vash sympathetic smiles and tried to hug, but Vash backed away.  
  
"Sorry, but it still hurts..."  
  
The girls nodded in understanding, but Vash knew they didn't. He didn't mean his bodily injures, they were numb thanks to the pain killers in his system. Zero knew what he meant. Zero had gone through something similar...  
  
"Hey Vash. How are you holding up, son?" His father asked.  
  
"I'll be fine dad. Don't worry about me." Vash said. "Mom, do you think we can go home now?"  
  
"Sure honey." She said with a smile. "We'll go down and check you out, OK?"  
  
"Sure thing mom."  
  
Vash's parents walked out of the room, leaving Vash and the others to converse.  
  
"So, why did they beat you up anyway?" Lan asked the question that was on everyone else's mind.  
  
"Well, I asked them that once, and they said it was because I was weak. I don't think that's the only reason. It might be because I program my own Navies, and they always turn out to be really strong."  
  
"Why would that matter?" Asked.  
  
"Because I would always beat them, and it hurt their ego's to be beaten by a wimp like me."  
  
"Your not a wimp!" Maylu yelled. "If you were a wimp, you wouldn't have accepted Dex's challenge this morning!"  
  
Vash was taken aback. Why had he accepted the challenge, instead of running away like he normally did?  
  
"I... I don't know."  
  
"I don't care if they think your a wimp. You can sit with us at lunch, if you'd like." Lan said.  
  
"O-Ok. Where do you guys meet?"  
  
Yai giggled at his stuttering saying, "We meet over by the cherry blossom tree, silly!"  
  
Tory took a seat by Vash's bed, "Yeah. If those guys come back, we can always protect you there!"  
  
"Thanks you guys." Vash tried to keep from laughing, knowing that the bullies were a lot stronger than all of them.  
  
Maylu whispered something to Lan, who immediately looked through the room's open door. Standing in the hallway was a woman, who couldn't have been any older than Vash's parents. Her blood red eye's gave Lan chills, while her blue hair was freaking Maylu out. Vash didn't care about her looks, however.  
  
"Aunt Rei!" Vash literally jumped out of the bed, and glomped on to his aunt.  
  
"Ohayo Vash-kun." Rei said without much emotion. A small smile impossibly formed itself on her face. "I hope your injuries are not serious."  
  
"Nah, I'll be just fine Rei-sama. They didn't get me too badly this time. Why didn't you come to see me earlier?"  
  
"I am sorry to say that work has been keeping me busy lately. In the future, I will try to visit more often, Vash-kun."  
  
Vash smiled brightly for his aunt. She was the only person who really understood him, and she tried to help him in any way possible. "Thank-you, Rei-sama!" Maylu noticed he was blushing slightly. "Oh! I almost forgot. These are my friends who helped me. This is Lan, Maylu, Yai, and Tory." he pointed to each respectively.  
  
"It is an honor to meet you." Rei politely bowed to the kids.  
  
"It's an honor to meet you to, Miss Rei." Lan said, bowing in unison with the others.  
  
Rei's cell phone went off. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer Vash-kun, but duty calls."  
  
"I understand, Rei-sama. I hope we meet again soon!"  
  
Rei quietly walked out of the room, only to be replaced by Vash's parents.  
  
"Time to go Vash." His mother smiled and gathered up all of Vash's belongings. His father simply stood around until his mother whacked him upside his head, called him a baka, and told him to help. Soon, the family was driving away from the hospital, and dropping off Vash's new friends.  
  
------  
  
The next day, Lunch time rolled around again. Vash was shy, but still managed to sit with his new friends. Dex was unusually quiet, and that was unnerving to Vash, but the others took no notice. Suddenly, Dex got up his nerve, and got in Vash's face.  
  
"OK loser, I want a rematch!"  
  
"Wha?" Vash muttered incoherently.  
  
"You heard me! Let's Net Battle!"  
  
"Uh..." Vash started to back away, but suddenly Lan, Maylu, Yai and Tory were backing him up.  
  
"Hey you, don't pick on Vash just because he isn't that strong!" Tory said, practically shoving Dex.  
  
"Wait," Vash said, "if he wants a fight, he'll get one. Right Zero?"  
  
"Heh, I just hope GutsMan isn't as easy this time." Zero was ready for another fight. Even if it was against a weaker opponent...  
  
------  
  
Zero VS. GutsMan, Round Two! Will GutsMan get his butt kicked again? (yes.) I STILL NEED HELP, AND NO ONE IS HELPING ME!!! Well, at least you people reviewed. Thank-you for that. And if you guessed Neon Genesis Evangelion is the cross over, then you get Chocolate! Check your fridge for it, your bound to find it eventually, Syrup or otherwise. (Don't expect much more out of Shinji and Asuka, but Rei might appear again.) ^_^ 


	4. friends and fights

Hello again. Time for more GutsMan bashing! ^_^ (if you couldn't tell, I still hold a grudge against him, ever since MegaMan 3. DIE YOU GAY LITTLE FREAK! [shoots him with MagnetMan's weapon] Muwahahaha!) OK, back to the story. I don't own anything MegaMan, and I know almost nothing, so give me help if you want corrections.  
  
Authors notes: I didn't know that MagnetMan was already used in the anime/game. I would change it, but I'm too lazy, and I don't know what I'd change it to anyway. Sorry!  
  
------  
  
Zero transferred in, and once again appeared on the 3 x 6 platform. GutsMan appeared across the way, this time sporting several new enhancements.  
  
"Guts! I got stronger, so you don't have to worry about fighting a weaker opponent! Now I'm the stronger one! Guts!"  
  
"Whatever." Zero charged his Z-Buster, and fired his Laser Shot (another E.X. Skill). The blast missed GutsMan, who returned the favor with a M-Cannon chip attack. Zero pulled out his Shield Boomerang at the last instant, shattering the attack, and transforming the energy into money (once again, an E.X. Skill). Zero scooped up the spare change, then returned to the fight.  
  
"Flame sword, Slot in!" Vash and Zero said in unison. Zero's Z Saber filled with and angry red, also changing his other weapon's elements. GutsMan charged toward Zero, and smacked him in the face. Zero was sent tumbling from the impact of the fist, while GutsMan jumped away from the boundary between the two Navies.  
  
"You can't get me with that sword of your now, guts!" GutsMan erupted in stupid laughter, giving Zero enough time to recover.  
  
"Who says I need to reach you with the Z saber?"  
  
Zero pulled out his Chain Rod, and shot it into GutsMan's chest. The blow stunned GutsMan, and Zero began to sap his energy(E.X. Skill of Burble Hekelot). After Zero recovered fully, he yanked on the Chain Rod, sending the injured Navi to his knees right next to the division.  
  
"Tenshouzan!" Zero yelled, using the E.X. Skill. His Z saber 'caught on fire', and Zero brought the blade up into an jumping slash.  
  
GutsMan didn't have time to react as the blade almost severed him in half, sending him rolling to the back of his area on the platform. The words 'Log out' Flashed in front of them both, and the Navies transferred back to their PET's.  
  
------  
  
Lan and the others gasped as they watched Zero almost delete GutsMan with little effort. MegaMan, Roll, IceMan and Glyde couldn't see the battle, but knew things hadn't gone well for GutsMan by Dex's expression.  
  
"You... You..." Dex sank to his knees, defeated. GutsMan was severely damaged, and it would be a while before the Navi could battle again.  
  
"I.. I'm sorry Dex." Vash finally got out.  
  
"Don't be." Zero piped up from the PET. "He was too confidant. If there's one thing I've learned from fighting Sigma, it's that you can't let your ego blind you."  
  
"Shut up, you stupid Navi!" Dex yelled at the PET. "You almost deleted GutsMan! I'll.. I'll..."  
  
"Dude, Dex, calm down!" Tory said as he patted Dex on the shoulder. "GutsMan will be fine. Just repair him, OK?"  
  
"Listen Dex, I'm sorry Zero hurt GutsMan that badly. Can you forgive us?" Vash had become shy again. He didn't want to be hated!  
  
"Not right now! Jerk!" Dex ran off, leaving the others to finish their lunch.  
  
"What's his issue?" Maylu asked aloud.  
  
"He'll be fine. GutsMan is strong enough to survive that." Roll spoke from her PET.  
  
"Yeah. He'll be just fine in a while." MegaMan agreed.  
  
------  
  
A few days had passed. Dex had avoided Vash the entire time, and the same was true about Zero and GutsMan. Zero had made fast friends with the other Navi's, just like Vash had gotten over most of his shyness, and actually let Lan and his friends into his life.  
  
It was Thursday night. Vash had fallen asleep early, leaving Zero to explore the internet. Zero was walking down a street when he received an E- mail from MegaMan.  
  
++++++  
  
Hey Zero. Me and the others are gathering at the Chip sale's man. Come if you want to, but just be aware that GutsMan will be there, and he's fully healed now. Hope you decide to come!  
  
MegaMan  
  
++++++  
  
"Hmm. Maybe I should go. I hope he knows that I have no hard feelings against GutsMan."  
  
Zero walked in the general direction of the Chip store. He hadn't fought anyone for a while, and was feeling bored. His boredom was erased when a Navi bumped into him.  
  
"Watch were your going." The white hair Navi said with a cold arrogance.  
  
"How about you watch where your going." Zero said as he turned to face the Navi.  
  
"Are we going to be childish about this? You were the one who wasn't paying attention."  
  
"Whatever." Zero didn't care anymore. He started to walk away when the Navi stopped him.  
  
"No one insults my honor and gets away with it. I am ProtoMan, and you will learn to fear my name!" The Navi pulled out an energy blade.  
  
"I've been looking for some fun. Guess I just found it!" Zero pulled out his Z saber.  
  
The two began to circle each other, then jumped at each other. The green and red blades crashed, looking like something out of Star Wars. Zero kicked ProtoMan away, and switched his form to the Ultimate Form. His hair changed from it's normal blonde to a bleached blond, and his armor turned a dark red.  
  
"The heck?" ProtoMan raised an eyebrow behind his visor, then leapt back into battle. Zero used his charge attack, making a crater in the ground and throwing ProtoMan into a wall. ProtoMan pulled himself out of the wall, "You're really strong. You might even be as strong as MegaMan. I'll have to tell Chaud about you." ProtoMan smirked, then logged off the internet.  
  
"Strange guy." Zero said. He transformed back to his normal form, and quickly made his way to his friends. Where he ran smack into GutsMan. "Uh, Hi, GutsMan. No hard feelings about that fight, OK?"  
  
"GutsMan see you are a strong Navi. GutsMan though about this, and think it's good to have strong friends, guts." GutsMan held out his hand. Zero shook the Navi's hand, affirming his forgiveness.  
  
"Hey you two! Come on!" Glyde shouted to the pair.  
  
"We're coming, guts!" GutsMan turned to Zero. "Just don't make any moves on Roll, guts."  
  
"Wouldn't think of it." Zero shrugged his shoulders, and ran after the other Navies.  
  
------  
  
It was Friday again. Vash and Dex had also become friends, "Even if he is a wimp." Dex had said.  
  
The friends and their Navi's were eating lunch together, when the bullies walked up to them. "Hey twerp! Looks like you finally got some friends!"  
  
"Yeah, so what? Just get out of here." Dex stepped in front of Vash.  
  
"Oh, what are ya gonna do? Bite me?"  
  
"Only if you make me."  
  
A few insults later, everyone was fighting. Lan, Maylu, Yai, Dex, and even Tory were fighting the bullies. They were losing, but fighting none the less. Vash cowered against the cherry tree.  
  
'I don't want them to be hurt, but I'm to weak to help...' Vash saw Lan take a punch to his face, throwing the young hero to the ground. "Lan!"  
  
Lan looked over to his new friend. "Get out of here Vash!"  
  
Vash shook his head. 'No... No... NO! I won't let this happen!' Vash let out a feral scream and charged the bully who had punched Lan. Impossibly, he flipped over his opponent, and slammed his knee into the bully's back, Knocking the wind out of him. He was clutching his chest when he hit the ground, gasping for air. All the fighting stopped. Everyone, even Lan, stared at Vash. Vash was breathing heavily. The moved had exhausted him. Unfortunately for him, his move was the only one the teacher saw.  
  
"Ikari Vash! What do you think you are doing?!?"  
  
"I'm sorry Mariko-sensei. These guy's were trying to beat up my friends, and I couldn't let that happen. Gomen nasai, Mariko-sensei." Vash bowed to honor the teacher.  
  
"If I remember correctly, aren't these kids who beat you up earlier this week?"  
  
"Hai. They were the ones, Mariko-sensei."  
  
"Then I believe I could let you off this time. Just make sure you avoid fighting from now on." Mariko dragged the bullies off to the nurse, leaving Lan and his friends to recover.  
  
"Are you OK guys?" Vash helped Lan off the ground.  
  
"Yeah, we should be fine. Thanks for getting that guy off me Vash."  
  
"Uh... No problem, I guess." Vash suddenly found the ground very interesting, as his face turned a shade of red.  
  
"You sure your a wimp?" Tory asked.  
  
"No way he is, after a move like that!" Dex slapped him on the shoulder, which caused Vash to wince.  
  
"Ow. Please don't do that again..."  
  
------  
  
Vash was in his room, doing homework. He couldn't understand how he had flipped over that bullies head, let alone knock the wind out of him! Was it something he had inherited by living with his adoptive father? Maybe...  
  
"Hey Vash, you got mail."  
  
"Huh? I never get mail. Who's it from?"  
  
"Someone named Chaud. I think that weird ProtoMan guy mentioned him."  
  
"Well, open it up! And who's ProtoMan?"  
  
Zero ignored him and open the letter, then read it out loud. "Dear Ikari Vash, I hear your Navi is quite powerful. I would like to challenge you to a Net Battle sometime. Talk to Lan and his friends for more information. Signed, Chaud and ProtoMan."  
  
"Guess we can't turn him down." Vash said, "Can you ask MegaMan where Lan is headed tomorrow when you go on-line?"  
  
"Sure thing Vash. Now you get some sleep, it's late, and I don't want your mom yelling at you again."  
  
------  
  
The weekend comes for Vash and his new friends. What will happen next for Zero and his young operator? We'll see when I update next. Thanks Serenade DS for the helpful information! Also thanks to all my other reviewers! Cya next time! 


	5. a new rival for Vash

Hi. It's raining. I don't own Capcom or anything MegaMan with the exception of MMX, MMZ 2, MM3, MM6, and a few dozen wallpapers of Zero, who always is the coolest character in any MegaMan game. (Spoiler, * ProtoMan is going down. * )  
  
------  
  
"Vash. It's seven thirty. GET UP!"  
  
Vash fell out of his bed, shaking the house and making Zero's PET rattle on the desk. Zero sighed inside of the PET, Reminding himself that Vash was just a kid, and that he was trapped in the PET.  
  
"Ow." Vash stood up and started getting dressed. "Morning, Zero. Did you talk to MegaMan yet?"  
  
"Yep. The whole group want's to meet up at the mall."  
  
"Cool. Let's get over there. Maybe we can find some good Chips for you!"  
  
"Okay." Zero shrugged his shoulders.  
  
------  
  
Vash was looking in around an anime shop when the others found him. The Dot Hack Sign DVD's were looking rather costly this time...  
  
"Ohayo Vash! What are you looking at?" Yai followed his line of sight to the DVD section. "Oh, your looking at buying Dot Hack Sign?"  
  
"Yeah, but I don't have any money, so I can't get it yet." Vash walked out of the store, Yai following close behind. "So Yai, what's the plan for today?"  
  
"Well, Lan and the others want to meet up with another friend of ours. He's a really smart guy, who has lots of money, and helps his dad run the family business. We don't get to see him very much, so it's a big deal." Yai smiled and blushed slightly.  
  
"Uh... OK. So, what's this guy's name?"  
  
"Chaud." She giggled slightly. Vash face-faulted.  
  
'Well, guess me and Zero don't have to wait to fight him.' Vash though as they walked through the mall.  
  
Vash and Yai arrived at the food court. Maylu could be seen sitting next to Lan, who was in the process of downing a bowl of fried rice. Dex and Tory were also at the table, eating their own lunches. Vash's own stomach was grumbling at the sight of food, so he ran through the crowds of pedestrians to get some food. Minutes later, Vash returned to the table to find Yai sitting next to a boy with white hair.  
  
"Chaud, I presume?" Vash raised an eye brow.  
  
"Yes. You must be Ikari Vash." Chaud stood, and shook Vash's hand. "Won't you join us for lunch?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Lunch was quick in passing, and the group found themselves looking through chip shops afterwards. Vash bought Zero a few bomb chips, and an Aquasword chip. He also wanted a Life aura chip, but he couldn't find it. Lan and everyone else were simply looking. Chaud seemed to hang close to Yai, and the same was true about Lan and Maylu. Vash was a little unnerved by these couples, seeing as he didn't have a girlfriend.  
  
"Hey guys, wanna see a movie?" Dex pointed toward the theater.(pointing is rude) Dex received a unanimous nod of approval from everyone except Vash. "What's up Vash?"  
  
"Uh, it may sound silly, but I don't have any money left after buying lunch and those chips..."  
  
"I'll pay for you." Chaud stepped up and gave Vash some money. Everyone except Vash gasped at this.  
  
"Uh... Thank-you Chaud."  
  
"It's nothing." Chaud walked off toward the theater.  
  
"Wow. He's normally very aloof, and doesn't help others." Tory had his eyebrows raised high.  
  
"It's just a little money..." Vash said as the others walked off. He shook his head to clear it, then ran after his friends.  
  
"So," Lan began, "What movie should we see?"  
  
"I say we should watch the Kenshin movie that just came out. It's supposed to be really good." Dex suggested.  
  
"I say we watch Sailor Moon!" Yai giggled happily.  
  
All the guys face-faulted. "NO WAY! WE ARE NOT WATCHING SAILOR MOON!" Even Chaud was yelling.  
  
"Fine. How about Matrix Revolutions?" Maylu's suggestion got nod's of approval from most of the others with the exception of Lan and Vash.  
  
"We can't see that. Were only kids, and it's rated R." Lan heaved a sigh. He did want to see it, but rules were rules.  
  
"Yeah. So what CAN we see?" Yai asked Vash directly, for no apparent reason.  
  
"Well, I have no issue with Macross 2. Besides, if we watch it at my house, we can see it for free."  
  
"Macross 2? Never heard of it." Yai's gaze was still fastened on Vash.  
  
"I have." Chaud spoke up. "It's supposed to be pretty good. Plus it's only rated 13 and up."  
  
"Good. That means we can all watch it!" Lan happily nodded.  
  
"So, is it agreed?" Dex asked.  
  
"Guess so." Maylu squeezed Lan's hand.  
  
Vash gave Chaud his money back, and the group headed to the subway.  
  
------  
  
After a couple of hours, the movie finished. It was only 2:30 P.M., giving the youths a lot of time to do what they pleased.  
  
"Hey Chaud, want to Net Battle?" Dex asked him.  
  
"Not with you." Chaud walked away from Dex and over to Vash. "Would you consent to Net battling?"  
  
"Sure." Vash unclipped his PET from his belt, and found Zero sleeping. "ZERO!"  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry Vash. What's up?" Zero rubbed his eyes.  
  
"You want to Net Battle against Chaud's Navi?"  
  
"Sure, I'll fight ProtoMan."  
  
"Then it's settled." Chaud brought out his own PET. "Let's get started. Should we allow the other Navi's to watch?"  
  
"Why not?" Vash waved his other friends closer, and everyone plugged in their PET's to the TV(not sure if this would actually work, but yeah.)  
  
------  
  
Zero found himself and the other Navi's standing in the TVs 'Cyber world'. Zero was once again on a 6 x 3 pad. The pad expanded, suddenly extending to include the other Navi's.  
  
"So, are you going to hold back like last time, ProtoMan?"  
  
The red Navi simply stared at Zero. "Of course not."  
  
The Navies pulled out their sabers, and the words 'Battle Start' appeared before them. The Navies ran forward, their sabers meeting with a hail of sparks. Zero jumped back and began charging his Z-buster. Chaud gave ProtoMan a BigBomb chip, which the tossed into the middle of Zero's field. Zero was blown back, but recovered quickly and fired his Laser Shot. ProtoMan dodged the attack, and fired with his own buster at Zero. Zero countered with his shield again, creating a small amount of Zenny.  
Zero changed his form to X, turning his armor blue, and used his Z- buster like a Uzi to spread fire across the platform at ProtoMan. ProtoMan took a few hit's, but returned fire with his buster again.  
  
"Firesword, Slot in!" Vash slammed the chip into the PET.  
  
Zero smiled at Vash's choice of chip, and started to charge his buster. Chaud gave ProtoMan an Aquasword chip, trying to oppose Zero's element. Zero yelled, "Blast Shot!", and fired his Z-Buster. The shot struck ProtoMan in the leg, setting off an explosion and throwing him several 'meters' in the air. ProtoMan landed at the far end of his area, but he was hardly scratched. (E.X. Skill of Feneir)  
  
"Your good. But you'll have to do even better to get rid of me." ProtoMan smirked.  
  
Once again, Zero spoke his almost trademark phrase. "Whatever."  
  
Zero once again changed his form to the Ultimate form. His armor once again changed to a dark red, and his hair to a bleached blond.  
  
------  
  
"Huh? Zero, what happened?" Vash hadn't seen Zero change his Form before, and it shocked him. "First you turned blue, then you turned a dark red! What's going on?"  
  
"Hmm. That is interesting..." Chaud commented on the changes.  
  
"I'll explain it after the fight, OK?" Zero yelled from the PET.  
  
"OK. I can wait for that. Longsword, Slot in!"  
  
------  
  
The crowd watching the fight was now equally split. MegaMan and Roll were both cheering for Zero, while Glyde, IceMan, and GutsMan were for ProtoMan. Lan, Maylu, and Yai were rooting for Zero, while Tory and Dex cast their votes for ProtoMan.  
  
Zero ignored all the cheers and jeers, focusing only on the fight. His Z saber extended from the Longsword chip, and he prepared to strike ProtoMan with it. ProtoMan jumped back to the furthest set of squares, avoiding Zero's attack. Zero used his Kougenjin(E.X. skill of Harupia), sending an energy wave toward ProtoMan. It struck the Navi against the wall of the 3 x 6 field, doing moderate damage. Chaud realized ProtoMan's predicament, and gave him a Drain3 chip. ProtoMan dashed forward, slamming his saber into Zero, and stealing some health.  
  
"Elecsword, Slot in!" Vash slotted in the chip, and another Z saber formed in Zero's other hand. Zero, now in close quarters with ProtoMan, used a dual charge attack(thanks to the Ultimate form). The energy from the blades crashing into him sent the Navi flying. ProtoMan's body was wreathed in flame and electricity. He crashed head first into the edge of the field, then fell back to the ground. He laid silent for a few seconds, the 'Log Out' flashed in front of him, leaving Zero and the other Navi's to celebrate.  
  
Roll glomped on to Zero, who blushed from the affection. "Uh, Roll, I think your making you 'boyfriend' jealous." Zero motioned to MegaMan, who was eyeing Zero.  
  
"Oh, sorry!" Roll quickly glomped onto MegaMan, who blushed like Zero.  
  
"So, how did you change your color?" Ice man asked.  
  
"Well, it's kind of complicated. I can control the attributes of my armor, such as speed, power, and defense. By changing my 'Form', I gain different abilities. I don't really know how I'm able to do it, but I can." Zero changed back into his normal form. "It's actually really helpful. Ciel thinks it may have something to do with the Cybe-" Zero cut himself off, realizing what he was saying.  
  
"Huh? Who's Ciel?" Lan asked.  
  
"Yeah, do you have a girlfriend your not telling me about Zero?" Vash teased his Navi.  
  
"No. It's something from my past, and I'd rather forget it." Zero lied.  
  
"Sure thing Zero." Maylu giggled.  
  
"Hey Chaud, you and ProtoMan OK?" Vash asked.  
  
"Yeah, we'll survive. You two really are strong. Guess next time I'll need to be more prepared." Chaud smiled, looking forward to the next battle.  
  
"I'll be waiting for that." Vash smiled.  
  
"Hey Zero, what ever happened to us sparring?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Well, I need some time to recover. Fighting ProtoMan took a little of the wind out of me, so how about on Monday?"  
  
"OK, that's fine with me."  
  
------  
  
Vash's mom peeked into their living room. Vash had finally made some friends, which made her happy. She didn't want kids when she was younger, but now she was glad Vash had come into her life. 'He reminded me of Shinji at times, but now he's kind of cute!' Asuka giggled at the thought of her son having a girlfriend...  
  
------  
  
Hey. I'm amazed I made this chapter longer than the others. Anyway, I hope you guy's liked the fight. Don't worry, I will eventually bring some other characters into the story(other than Eva characters!) I'll eventually explain the whole thing with Vash and his parents, so be patient. Anyway, next chapter soon! Please Review and get more people to read! Reviews help my ego. ^_^  
  
(Iris...) 


	6. Love happens

Hey people. I haven't updated in about a week or so, and I apologize. MegaMan, Zero, and all the other characters belong to Capcom, while Shinji, Asuka, and Rei belong to gainax. I wish they were mine, but they aren't. It's time for one last hero Vs. hero match up. MM Vs. MMZ!  
  
------  
  
Two days had passed since ProtoMan's defeat. Zero, now almost a legend on the internet, was sitting near a chip merchant. Using his own funds, Zero had bought several BigBomb chips and had found a LifeAura chip(which excited Vash to no end). Zero had earned the money by selling chips he found, which had earned him friendship from many other Navi's. MegaMan and the others were out and about, but Zero wanted a little time on his own.  
  
'I wonder... Why am I here?' Zero rubbed his face, trying to wake up his senses. 'I know X said this is how I started my existence, but why don't I remember this!'  
  
Zero's thoughts were interrupted by a Navi with a skirt passing in front of him. It wasn't the fact that the Navi HAD a skirt, it was the colors... Pink and dark blue, with yellow and gray trim. Her hair was brown. Instead of a helmet, she had a beret.  
  
'It couldn't be...' Zero shook his head in disbelief, then looked back over to the woman who was purchasing chips. 'Could... Could this be why X sent me back?'  
  
"Aw... I don't have enough Zenny. Guess I'll have to wait." She started to walk away, but Zero stopped her.  
  
"How much do you need miss?" Zero towered above her.  
  
"Uh... I-I only need about a thousand more Zenny." She stepped back, a little afraid of the imposing stranger.  
  
"OK." Zero handed her some Zenny. "I hope that helps." He walked off, returning to his PET.  
  
"Woah. What was that all about?" she looked down into her hand and gasped. He had given her around ten thousand Zenny and his web address, with a note that said 'Call me if you ever need help with anything.'  
  
------  
  
"Hey Zero, you came back early. What's up?" Vash picked his PET up and started down the stairs of his house.  
  
"Just ran out of things to do. We headed over to Lan's house for the sparring match?"  
  
"Yeah. Lan said three in the afternoon, so were going to be a little late." Vash began running down to Lan's house, which was only a block away. As soon as he arrived, Lan flung the door open.  
  
"Come on in. We've been waiting for this!" Dex, who was also at Lan's house, pulled him inside.  
  
"I take it I was expected." Vash found himself in Lan's room.  
  
"You bet!" Yai and Maylu shouted. They were sitting on Lan's bed, leaving Lan, Dex, Tory, and Vash to inhabit the floor.  
  
"You ready MegaMan?" Lan brought out his PET to look his Navi in the face.  
  
"Sure thing Lan! I'm ready."  
  
"Zero. You up to this?" Vash had also brought out his own PET.  
  
"What do you think." Zero raised his eyebrow, waiting for his operators response.  
  
"What do I think? Uh... I... I think your strong enough to win."  
  
"Then lets do this dance."  
  
Lan and Vash connected their PET's saying, "Zero.EXE/MegaMan.EXE, Transmission!"  
  
------  
  
Zero appeared on the traditional 6 x 3 battle platform. MegaMan was across from him, preparing for the fight. Zero immediately switched to his Ultimate form. From what Vash had told him, MegaMan was supposed to be the strongest Navi ever.  
  
"Ready Zero?" MegaMan asked happily.  
  
"Sure thing X, Uh, MegaMan." Zero stumbled over his reply.  
  
"Wha? Did you just call me X?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry. You remind me a lot of an old friend. We used to be best buddies, but he changed, and we were enemies for a while." Zero pulled out his Z-Buster.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that. Hope it doesn't turn out that way for us!" MegaMan smiled.  
  
'Battle Start' flashed between them. Zero fired the Buster rapidly, then started to charge it. MegaMan returned fire with his own Buster, trying to keep Zero at a distance and on the defensive. Lan slotted in a BigBomb chip to MegaMan, Which he tossed into Zero's side. Zero took the hit, then fired his Laser Shot. The beam made a continuous hit through MegaMan, which did some moderate damage. Vash slotted in an Aquasword Chip, and Zero pulled out his Shield Boomerang. Charging for a short time, Zero let the weapon fly, striking and freezing MegaMan.  
This gave Zero enough time to run up and charge attack MegaMan with the Z saber, freezing him again. Lan gave MegaMan a Firesword chip, causing the ice around the Navi to melt. MegaMan lashed forward and struck Zero with the flaming saber. Zero reeled from the hit, but managed to roll to the side, avoiding a barrage of Buster shots from MegaMan. Vash slotted in his Life Aura chip, trying to protect Zero. Zero used this to his advantage, and began charging his Chain Rod. When MegaMan moved close enough to attack, Zero loosed the Chain Rod's stored up energy, rapidly slashing MegaMan in quick succession.  
MegaMan realized that he was in trouble, and Lan slotted in a Recov200 chip, revitalizing his ailing Navi. MegaMan fired off his buster cannon at the relatively close Zero, striking him in the helmet. Zero rolled back and flipped up, firing his Z-Buster at a medium charge. MegaMan took the hit in his leg, while Lan slotted in a Herosword. Zero charged forward, pulling out his Z saber. Their blades met again and again, revealing no true winner. Eventually, it ended up being a stalemate in the realm of swords.  
Suddenly, 'Log Out' flashed in front of them.  
  
------  
  
"Wow. That was one intense sparring match." Tory stood up from the floor to stretch himself.  
  
"Yeah." Zero was in his PET again. "MegaMan IS really strong." Zero smiled, knowing if anything came up to disturb the peace, MegaMan and himself could take care of it.  
  
"You did really good Zero!" Vash smiled, then activated the Repair program on his PET. Lan congratulated MegaMan and followed suit.  
  
"You guy's ready for dinner?" Lan's mom called from the first floor.  
  
"Sure thing mom!" Lan and the other's plugged their PET's into Lan's computer, then left for dinner.  
  
------  
  
Zero appeared on MegaMan's home page. The other Navi's greeted each other, then sat in a circle.  
  
"So Zero, what happened to you before you became Vash's Navi?" IceMan asked.  
  
"Well, you won't believe this, but I don't know." Zero lied again. "I have flashes of my past, but that's about it."  
  
"Your right, guts. I don't believe you." GutsMan wanted to know how Zero had become such a good fighter, and was pressing the matter.  
  
"GutsMan, that's not polite." Glyde shook his head in disapproval. "But I must admit, it is hard to believe. Especially the way you spontaneously seem to call MegaMan 'X'."  
  
"Well, as far as I can remember, X wasn't a Navi, but he was similar looking to MegaMan. We used to be good friends. There's a gap in my memory for a long while, but after it, I'm with this person named Ciel. She helped me understand what was going on around me, and somehow X had become my enemy." Zero knew he was lying through his teeth, and he hated it. Still, who would believe he came from the future?  
  
"Well, even if you can't remember your entire past, we don't mind." IceMan said.  
  
Roll was holding hands with MegaMan, and starring at the blue Navi. GutsMan was more focused on Zero, so he didn't notice. MegaMan did however, and blushed. Zero almost laughed, but kept it in. He could remember X and Alia being together, and though how alike the two girls were in some ways, while complete opposite in others.  
  
Then Zero got an E-Mail. "Uh, be right back. I got an E-Mail." Zero walked off and opened the mail.  
  
++++++  
  
Dear Mr. Zero,  
  
Thank you for giving me the Zenny I needed. Why did you do that anyway? No one has ever really wanted to help me so freely. Can I see you again sometime? I'd really like to get to know you.  
  
Your friend, the lonesome stranger.  
  
++++++  
  
'WHAT?!? SHE DIDN'T EVEN WRITE HER REAL NAME ON THIS! Huh. Just like something Iris would do.' Zero felt like slapping his forehead, but refrained from doing so. He sent his reply immediately, then returned to the group.  
  
"Who was it from?" Roll asked. Zero noticed she wasn't holding MegaMan's hand anymore, and GutsMan had his eye on her.  
  
"Just a girl I met." Zero returned to his spot. "So, what's you guy's story?"  
  
"Well, we all met each other when Lan was in the 5th grade." MegaMan explained. "At the time, a group called World 3 was trying to take over the world. I stopped them with these guy's help, and we've been friends ever since."  
  
"Cool. How were they trying to take over the world?"  
  
"They were using a virus to take over the internet." Roll tried to hide herself from GutsMan, who had started to notice her and MegaMan's closeness.  
  
'Hmm. They're using viruses to take over the world? Sound's like the Maverick virus to me...' Zero stood up. "Hey MegaMan. Can I speak with you?"  
  
"Sure. Follow me." MegaMan lead Zero to a Data Pocket, hiding them from the other Navi's. "What's up?"  
  
"I need to request something from you. Your really strong, and I want to work with you."  
  
"Huh?" MegaMan was confused. "What the heck are you talking about?"  
  
"Something is going to happen soon. I don't know what, but it's going to be big. I need you to work with me in anything that comes up. You are supposed to be the strongest Navi there is, and if we are coming out in a stale mate in a sparring match, then I'd say were almost equals in real combat. If we combined our power, then we can take out anything that comes our way. What do you say?"  
  
"Well, you are really strong." MegaMan admitted, "I don't see why we couldn't work together." The two shook hands.  
  
'Guess were Hunter's again...' Zero smiled. "We should get back to the others before GutsMan tries anything funny with Roll."  
  
MegaMan laughed and agreed with Zero. The reunited brothers returned to their friends.  
  
------  
  
Somewhere on the internet, something stirred. It shifted in the shadow's of forgotten Data, then was silent again. The last reminisce of the demon Iroul had gathered outside of Nerv. It moved away, sensing that it's mission was impossible to complete. It could still wreak havoc on the humans, however...  
  
------  
  
Vash was walking down the street slowly. The night at Lan's house had drawn to a close, leaving Vash and Zero to return home.  
  
"Hey Zero?"  
  
"Yeah Vash?"  
  
"Do you think you could defeat MegaMan?"  
  
Zero though for a little bit. He had defeated Copy X, but he didn't know if he could beat the original MegaMan. "I'm not sure. We're almost equal to each other in strength. We'd make a good team."  
  
"You think so? Heh, I always figured you were the type to work alone." Vash smiled at his PET.  
  
"You thought wrong. I just don't like to work with those weaker than myself."  
  
"Do you think I'm weak?" Vash's smile broke into a frown.  
  
"No. If anything, your just as strong as Lan and the others. In fact, you may be stronger than them, after that move you pulled."  
  
Vash smiled again, a bit embarrassed from being told that he was strong, when he thought he was so weak...  
  
------  
  
Zero walked down the crowded street's of the internet. A few hours had passed since Vash went to bed, and it would be morning soon. He had E- mailed Iris back, and asked her to meet him at one of the spots he frequented. Zero waited for her, pacing back and forth, worrying that she might not come. His worry was erased when she appeared over the horizon. She looked like she was in a hurry to get away from something. That something was a strange looking Navi.  
  
"Help!" Iris tripped over part of the sidewalk, slamming face first into the ground.  
  
"Your mine now, little girl!" The Navi was about to attack Iris when Zero stopped him dead in his tracks.  
  
"Back. Off." Zero's eyes said everything else the Navi needed to know.  
  
"I'm TopMan of World 3, now out of my way!" TopMan Readied his Top Cannon.  
  
"You want her, you go through me." Zero placed himself between TopMan and Iris. "And trust me, you won't make it through me." Zero pulled out his Z saber, igniting it.  
  
"Your mistake for messing with WWW!" TopMan fired a top at Zero's face, which Zero simply batted away with the Z saber. "What?"  
  
"Your done." Zero had been charging his Z saber, and unleashed the attack on the unsuspecting TopMan. He followed up with a Tenshouzan, halving and deleting the Navi. Zero turned around and helped Iris to her feet. "You okay Miss?"  
  
"Uh, I think so. Why did you help me again? You could have been deleted!"  
  
"Because it was the right thing to do. Come on, let's sit down." Zero led Iris over to a nearby bench.  
  
"Thank you for helping me, Zero. That guy was after a chip I just found. I don't even know what it was, but he really wanted it for some reason. Oh! I never told you my name! I'm-"  
  
"Iris, nice to meet you to." Zero smiled at her. It wasn't a 'HA! I know you already cause I've been stalking you!' kind of smile, but more of a 'hey, I love you.' smile.  
  
"How did you know my name?" Iris asked.  
  
"Your E-Mail address."  
  
Iris and Zero laughed. Zero remembered Iris clearly. From her clothing to the way she laughed, he could remember every detail completely. And this Iris was exactly the same. Zero was in love...  
  
"So, where are you from?" Iris tilted her head to the right.  
  
"Well, my operator lives in ACDC Town." Zero tilted his head to oppose her.  
  
"REALLY? That's where my operator and I are moving! Guess I'll already have a friend when I get there!" She smiled cheerfully and hugged Zero.  
  
"I guess you will." Zero returned the hug. 'Yeah, I've found why I returned. I've found her again. Please God, don't let me lose her again!' Zero wasn't sure if he believed in god, but it couldn't hurt to ask.  
  
"I wish I could give you something for helping me Zero. Your such a nice guy." Iris smiled at him. 'He's really cute. I wish I could go out with him, but brother would NEVER like him...' Iris reached into a 'pocket' and pulled out a chip. "This is the chip that I found earlier. I don't know if it's enough, but you can have it." Iris gave Zero the chip, unconsciously squeezing his hand. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Both Zero and Iris blushed.  
  
"IRIS! GET AWAY FROM THAT NAVI!"  
  
"Huh?" Zero looked behind Iris to see a bulky Navi running towards them.  
  
"Brother! What are you doing here?" Iris tried to hide her blushing.  
  
"What I'm doing doesn't matter! You get away from that guy right now. He's bad news, I can smell it!"  
  
Zero raised his right eyebrow. "And what gives you the right to judge me based on your sense of smell?" Iris giggled.  
  
"Gr... You just get away from my sister right now!" The rather embarrassed Navi was shaking his fists in the air.  
  
"OK. Fine." Zero stood and walked a few feet away from Iris.  
  
"Brother! That's no way to treat the man who saved my life!" Iris stood and would have slapped her brother, had he not been three time's her height.  
  
"Hm. He saved your life, did he? I'll give him a chance then... What's your name?"  
  
"My name is Zero." Zero extended his hand.  
  
"My name is Colonel." he took Zero's hand and shook it.  
  
"Sorry to leave so quickly Zero, but my operator just called for me. I'll see you later, OK?"  
  
"Sure thing Iris." Zero smiled and waved good-bye. 'Man. She's just as beautiful as ever...' Zero looked down at his 'watch'. 'Ah, shnikies. It's time to wake the kid up.' Zero transmitted himself back to the PET, and commenced yelling at Vash.  
  
------  
  
Yeah. Until now, I hadn't thought of how to incorporate WWW into the story, but now I have ideas. next chapter soon... ^_^ 


	7. Ireul strikes

Yo. Iris.EXE + Zero.EXE = ^_^ author. I don't own anything MegaMan. It's all Capcoms. I don't own Asuka, Shinji, Rei, or Ireul (one of the 'angels' that attacked NERV in NGE.) They all belong to gainax. Iris needed to live! (kicks Capcom for killing off Iris. SHE. WILL. NOT. DIE. IN. MY. FIC.) The whole thing with Vash's attackers being beat up will be explained this chapter.  
  
------  
  
Vash sat in class, bored as usual. Zero was in the school's systems, leaving him to listen to Mariko-sensei. Suddenly, Vash's attention peaked. A beautiful girl walked into the class room. Her hair was a raven black, and her brown eye's emanated a joyful feeling. Vash was as captivated as a 6th grader could be, and he hadn't even met her yet.  
  
"Is this the class of Mariko-sensei?" Her voice was delicate, not just soft or emotionless, but fearful in a way.  
  
"That's correct. Class, this is Ryoji Kasumi, our new student from Kyoto."  
  
"Ohayo Kasumi!" The class bowed to the new student.  
  
"Ohayo." She said quietly.  
  
"You can take your seat next to Vash in the back." Mariko-sensei instructed her.  
  
"Hai." She took her assigned seat, and Mariko-sensei continued her class. She plugged in her Navi, then turned her eye's toward the teacher. Vash looked at her out of the corner of his eye, almost ready to openly gape at her beauty. Unfortunately for Vash, Dex was also having ideas about the new girl...  
  
------  
  
Zero was playing Rock, Paper, scissors with MegaMan. GutsMan was thinking about Roll, and was ignored by everyone. IceMan and Glyde were speaking with some of the other Navi's. Roll, who was cheering MegaMan on, was the first to notice the new Navi appear in the area. She looked kind of confused.  
  
"Hey! Your the new student's Navi, right?" Roll walked over and greeted the Navi. "My name is Roll. What's yours?"  
  
"Um, my name is Iris. Nice to meet you Roll." Iris said.  
  
"Hey, want to meet my friends?" Roll motioned toward MegaMan and the others.  
  
"Sure!" Iris smiled, and followed Roll.  
  
Zero was about to place his red O on the board. Then he noticed Iris walking toward his group with roll. He dropped the O on the board, leaving MegaMan to win the game. Zero stood as Iris glomped on him. "Nice to see you too, Iris."  
  
"I missed you Zero!" She giggled, then released her death grip on Zero. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. Iris, these are my friends. MegaMan, Roll, IceMan, Glyde, and GutsMan." Zero motioned with his hand to each.  
  
"It's nice to meet you." MegaMan nodded to her.  
  
Glyde and IceMan shook her hand, while GutsMan nodded in conformation. Iris took Zero's hand, and smiled at him. Even though she was shorter, the reach for Zero's hand was barely seen. Zero and Iris smiled at each other.  
  
------  
  
Lunch time came quickly. Lan, Vash, and the others sat beneath the cherry blossom tree as usual. Kasumi was sitting in what used to be Vash's normal spot. This worried Vash. He didn't want another shy person like himself hanging around one of the more secluded areas. "Hey guys, I'll be right back, OK?"  
  
"Sure thing." Yai shoved a piece of sushi in her mouth.  
  
Vash walked over to Kasumi, trying not to be intrusive. "Hey Kasumi. Uh, why are you eating all alone?"  
  
She looked at him, a sadness beyond description filling her eyes. "I... I don't know anyone here..." Hey eyes averted from him, trying to avoid contact.  
  
"Well, that's ok. My name is Vash. I used to sit here for a while, but Lan and his friend's invited me to sit with them. You want to come sit with us?"  
  
"Uh... I-I don't know..." She blushed. 'Why won't he just go away?'  
  
"If you want to stay here, that's fine, but I really would like it if you would join us." Vash smiled trying to assure her that he didn't mean her any harm.  
  
"O-OK..." She stood, clutching her bag to her chest. She followed Vash toward the Cherry blossom tree, only to have their progress halted by the class bullies.  
  
"Hey, look here, it's little Vash. Nice of you to return to your stomping ground! Aw, look guy's. Vashie-washie has a girlfriend." The lead bully smirked, knowing that if they wanted to do anything to Vash or Kasumi, they could do it.  
  
"She's not my girlfriend, and your not touching her." Vash had entered a stare down, and even he wasn't sure he could win.  
  
"Oh yeah? And what if I-" The bully was cut off by Vash grabbing his hand, then kicking him in the crotch. He sank to the ground, clutching the previously mentioned area.  
  
"He kicked Kentaro in the nuts! Get 'em!" The gang converged on Vash, but was stopped by the intrusion of a black hared young man.  
  
"Back off kiddo, before this gets personal."  
  
"Huh? Uncle Toji? What are you doing here?" Vash wore one of the most puzzled looks know to mankind.  
  
"Shinji wanted me to keep a look out on you ever since you started to get beat up. Also, you really shouldn't kick someone in the balls right off the bat in a fight." Toji broke his speech to spin kick a kid who tried to sneak up on him. "I'll have to teach you how to fight later kid, but right now, I gotta go. Isn't to good to be seen beating up kid's and all that jazz." Toji pulled out a small flare and snapped it, blinding everyone around.  
  
When Vash opened his eyes again, Toji had disappeared. He was replaced by Mariko-sensei shortly. "What do you kid's think your doing?"  
  
"They were trying to harass Kasumi. I apologize for fighting again, Mariko-sensei." Vash bowed to her.  
  
"Sheesh. Vash, would you stop apologizing! You know fighting is wrong, but you do it for all the right reasons. Come on you bullies, time to go back to the office." Mariko-sensei dragged off the bullies AGAIN. She noticed that their visible bruises were larger this time. She started to wonder about their not so visible ones...  
  
"Heh. I'm always being saved..." Vash shook his head. "Oh well. You still coming Kasumi?"  
  
"I-I guess so..." Kasumi walked a little bit closer to Vash, clinging to him for all the emotional support she could get.  
  
"Don't worry. Lan, Maylu, and the others aren't mean. The only person who could possibly pose a problem is Dex. He's a bit of a idiot, and tends to speak without thinking."  
  
Kasumi giggled, and smiled for the first time that Vash had ever seen. "You look good when you smile, Kasumi."  
  
"Really?" Kasumi looked at him with questions in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah. Your eye's are really beautiful too." He smiled brightly at her, just as they reached the Cherry blossom tree. "Hey guy's. I asked Kasumi to come and sit with us! That all right with everyone?"  
  
"Sure!" Lan scooted over to make room for the new girl. The rest of lunch went well, especially for Vash, who Kasumi was snuggling VERY close to.  
  
------  
  
Vash had returned to class with the rest of his friends. Life was getting better for the youth. Battered and bruised from bullies, scared from loss and insecurity, and hopelessly outnumbered was how he had started. Now, he had gained back some of his loss, he had a guardian angel in the form of Toji Suzahara, Lan and the others had become his friends, and he now had Kasumi hanging on to him almost literally! And the best thing he could think of about all the changes was Zero, the mysterious Navi that appeared out of thin air. Zero and Vash considered themselves brothers, and it really felt like it. Vash, a simple little child, and Zero, the strongest person (besides Shinji and Toji) Vash had ever known.  
Vash gazed at Kasumi, and Kasumi returned the stare. Even though class was going on, no one seemed to notice them. Their little reprieve from life was cut short, however, when something happened to the classroom. Everything, with the exception of the PET's, suddenly just stopped working. Lights, computers, anything with a cord that wasn't easily portable shut down, and stayed that way.  
  
"What's going on?" Maylu reached down and unplugged her PET from the desk. "Roll, are you all right? Roll?" She breathed a sigh of relief when the pink Navi stirred.  
  
Vash stood and unplugged his PET. "Zero? Zero, wake up!" The Navi remained silent for a few seconds, and then woke with a groan. "Zero, your all right!"  
  
"Yeah, wish I could say the same for the computer systems... Ugh..." Zero clutched his head, seemingly in pain. "Dang, whatever that red and black thing was, it sure didn't slow down to fight us. All it was after was the hardware, but me, MegaMan, and the other Navi's were able to keep it away from the PETs. Hey, could you ask Kasumi how Iris is holding up?"  
  
"Sure thing Zero. Uh, Kasumi? Zero want's to know how Iris is doing."  
  
"I-I don't know... She isn't in the PET..."  
  
"WHAT?!?" Zero was yelling as loud as the PET's speakers would allow. "VASH, TRANSMIT ME BACK IN, NOW!"  
  
Vash nearly dropped the PET from Zero's yelling. "Sure thing!" Vash plugged the PET back into the desk, "Zero.EXE, transmission!"  
  
------  
  
Zero appeared in the school's Cyber World once more. The once peaceful area was now covered with a strange red and black substance that seemed to sparkle in an evil, yet beautiful way. Zero was careful to avoid it, and dashed through the Cyber World looking for Iris. He stopped dead in his tracks when he found her. Her body data had frozen. A tendril of the red-black goo stretched out and wrapped into her arm, while another held her legs. Another had impaled her through back, and had started to spread out over her chest and neck. Another still held her from above, keeping her aloft.  
  
"NO! IRIS!" Zero was on the brink of insanity. 'No, please, I can't lose her... Not again!'  
  
"You returned." The material moved. Something told Zero that touching this stuff wouldn't be good for his health. "Why? You should have just left with the rest. All I ever needed was her. You have no use in dying."  
  
"YOU CAN'T HAVE HER YOU FREAKING GOO!" Zero pulled out his Z Saber and ignited it. "GIVE HER BACK!"  
  
"Heh, you think you can challenge ME so lightly? Pitiful excuse for a program, be gone!"  
  
A tendril of red and black goo shot out at Zero, which he promptly slashed away from himself. Zero jumped to avoid another tendril, and sliced Iris free in one clean cut. He caught her falling form, and started to run for the exit. Several tendrils launched themselves toward Zero, but a few well-aimed Buster Shots cut them down. Zero could see MegaMan standing by the exit, covering Zero's retreat. Within moments, Zero ran through the exit, closely followed by MegaMan.  
  
------  
  
"Iris! Iris, wake up! Please!"  
  
Something warm impacted her face. It ran to the side, leaving a trail of warmth across her face. She wanted to respond to who ever was calling her, but she was too tired...  
  
"Iris, don't leave me! Don't go!"  
  
More of the warmth impacted her face. It was warm: warm enough to force her to reality. "Ah... Ze... Zero... I want to see Zero..."  
  
"I-I'm here Iris! Are you all right? Answer me Iris."  
  
She still couldn't open her eyes. Everything was dark. The Voice was still there, taunting her. "I... I can't see... It's so cold... Zero, hold me... keep me warm..."  
  
"I will in just a second Iris. I still have to get some of this stuff out of your system. Just give me some time."  
  
"OK Zero. Just don't forget, you promised to hold me..." Iris felt some of the darkness being ripped away. Slowly, the feeling faded. She was in agony, but she couldn't bring herself to scream if she wanted to. Then, the pain faded, but the cold hadn't faded. "Zero... It's gone... can you hold me now? It's so cold..."  
  
"Yeah Iris, I can hold you now..." He took the injured Navi in his arms, holding her close. He could feel her breathing become steady, and started to whisper to her. Iris wrapped her still numb arms around Zero, pulling herself closer to him.  
  
"It's so cold... Heartless... All it wanted was to hurt me. To get that chip back... So cold..." Zero felt Iris shiver from the cold. He siphoned some of his own energy to Iris, trying to support her damaged and corrupted systems. He could still see some of the Virus in her, but it was fading quickly. Though it had hurt him more to see her in pain, he had known that using the Chain Rod's energy sapping ability to draw out the Virus was her best chance. Even now, the Zero Virus inside of him was destroying it.  
  
"Zero! Do you want me to help her?" A program hovered by Zero. It was one of the Cyber-Elves that he had found in the future.  
  
"Huh? Mitick, if you help her, you'll die!"  
  
"I don't care! That's what I was born for!" The Cyber-Elf plunged into Iris, repairing her damaged files, the re-appearing outside of her. "HEY! She's not a Reploid! I could do this all day and never get tired!"  
  
"Uh... Thanks, I guess...?" Zero always questioned the work of a suicide runner who came back alive.  
  
"Your welcome!" The Elf re-entered the storage container Zero had with him.  
  
"Zero, is she going to be all right?" Kasumi was almost challenging Vash for ownership of the PET it seemed.  
  
"Yeah, she'll be fine." Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief. Vash, however, wanted to know what the heck was going on. "Vash, it was a Virus. That much I could tell."  
  
"A Virus? Great. Just great." Lan had already unplugged his PET from the desk. "So, what now? We need to find out how to get rid of that virus."  
  
"Lan! We have an E-mail!" MegaMan said from the PET. "And it's from Forte? What the heck?"  
  
"Well, open it. It can't hurt, can it?" Lan opened the mail, and gasped in shock.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Attention.  
  
A Virus called Ireul has begun to spread. It's being controlled by Wily, and can take over a Navi if the infection reaches 100%. Avoid contact with it. Lan, have MegaMan meet me near the chip shop. Don't bring anyone with you.  
  
Forte  
  
++++++++++  
  
"Well, at least we know Forte isn't working for Wily anymore." Lan commented.  
  
"Maybe, but I'm not convinced." MegaMan crossed his arms, "All Forte wants is to be more powerful."  
  
"OK, Who's Forte and Wily?" Vash was dumbfounded.  
  
"Long story." Lan and MegaMan said it in union.  
  
"Oookay..." Zero slapped his forehead.  
  
"Zero..." Iris gripped tighter to him, causing him to blush.  
  
"Uh, Iris?" He received no reply. She was sleeping peacefully, and had a death grip on Zero's neck.  
  
------  
  
Yeah, this chapter was a little odd. For your information, there will be no Eva combat unless demanded by you, the fan people. I have no idea how Zero will get back to the future, but it WILL have something to do with Ireul. How Toji got his hands on flare's, look to Nerv's armory. In closing, I will now pronounce the couple listings!  
  
Lan and Maylu of course. Vash and Kasumi. Yai and Chaud. Roll and MegaMan. Iris (Who will not die.) and Zero. 


	8. Forte and the MAGI

Hi. MegaMan and all the other related characters belong to Capcom, while Vash's parents and relatives(and the virus Ireul) belong to Gainax. Please review! And for those who were wondering, yes, I am going to use MegaMan's style changes eventually. Not this chapter however. And to my reviewer who thinks he can't speak English, yes, it is understandable. And thank-you for reviewing!  
  
------  
  
Forte stood in a dark alley, waiting for MegaMan. He remembered every moment of being defeated by him, and now he was being forced to work with him. 'This sucks...' Forte noticed the blue Navi approaching him, and turned to meet him. "Okay, MegaMan. I have information on this virus, but if you want it, I have to work with you."  
  
"I don't want to work with you, but we do need the information. It's a deal." MegaMan grimaced, thinking he may have been cutting a deal with the devil. "You may want to meet our other partner."  
  
"You brought someone with you?" Forte eyed MegaMan wearily.  
  
"Not with me, but he is nearby. ZERO! GET OVER HERE!" MegaMan shouted.  
  
The red and black Navi walked around the corner, his ultimate form equipped. "So, your Forte. Nice to meet you." Zero extended his hand.  
  
Forte made no move, keeping himself under his cloak. "Who ever you are, this is none of your concern. Just get out of here before you get hurt."  
  
"Shut up, Forte. This virus IS my business. It's after the only person I care about besides my operator, and I won't let it have her!" Zero was starting to dislike Forte(is massive understatement). "And if you intend to get in my way..."  
  
"I'm not going to get in your way. All I want is to see this stupid virus gone, and me absorbing it's power." Forte was glaring daggers into Zero.  
  
"Cool it you two. This isn't the time to be fighting." MegaMan stood between the two. "Forte, you said you had information?"  
  
"Yeah. For one thing, Wily got out of Proto. How, I don't even know. Second, this virus has attacked before. It's not like Proto, because it doesn't devour anything. Instead, it takes over anything it touches. It was first found in an agency called Nerv's three main super computers, collectively called the MAGI. It was supposedly destroyed when Nerv's lead programmer used the only non-infected MAGI unit to program the virus to self destruct. The virus was supposedly destroyed, but evidently part of it survived."  
  
"And that part is what attacked the school's computers, looking for Iris, correct?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Yes. The Virus made a pact with Wily. If Wily helps Ireul find a special chip that contains part of it's essence, then Wily will get the base code for a virus that can take over any system he wants. If Wily or Ireul get their hands on this 'Adaptability' chip, then we might as well kiss our freedom good-bye."  
  
"Adaptability? Wait..." Zero pulled out the chip Iris had given him. The file name of the chip read Adapt.dll. "I think we found the chip."  
  
"Give it to me." Forte held out his hand, which had quite a few scars on it.  
  
"Why? As far as we know, we can't even use this thing. I'm going to hold on to it, and if you don't like it, too bad." Zero put the chip away.  
  
"Whatever." Forte turned to leave.  
  
"That's my line." Zero smirked. "MegaMan, we should probably get back to Vash and Lan. They're probably worried sick. Sides, if I remember correctly, Vash's parent's used to work at Nerv..."  
  
------  
  
Vash and Lan were waiting at Vash's computer, hoping that Zero and MegaMan would have some information. Zero's PET had one less occupant, now that Iris had returned to her own PET. Kasumi had almost outlawed Iris from going on-line, so Colonel was running her errands. The PET's suddenly lit up, announcing the arrival of the two Navies.  
  
"Did you guy's find anything?" Lan looked hopeful.  
  
"Yeah. Vash, we need to talk to your parents. We'll tell you what we found later." MegaMan sounded pretty demanding, but Lan knew he didn't mean it.  
  
"Okay. MOM! DAD! WE NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU!" Vash hadn't even bothered to move away from Lan before he yelled.  
  
"Do you really need to yell so loudly, right next to me?" Lan was wincing in pain.  
  
Moments later, Vash's mom appeared in the doorway. "What's up, Vash?"  
  
"Zero need's to talk with you and dad about Nerv."  
  
Asuka winced at that. "Uh... Why, might I ask?"  
  
"We've found a virus that was first found at your work, Ikari-sama" MegaMan said.  
  
"Oh, 'That' virus. This could take a while..." Asuka sat on Vash's bed. "It all started during a Harmonics test. The test was going smoothly, until corruption was detected inside the test chamber. It was ignored until it started to spread, and it infected the main computer system. It was then confirmed as an Angel, and we had Ritsuko use Casper, the only free MAGI, to program a self destruction virus into it. All the while me, your father, and your aunt Rei were sitting around buck-" Asuka suddenly went into a German rant to avoid telling about what actually took place between the three. Zero laughed from his PET, understanding everything.  
  
Lan smiled saying, "Okay, so to delete this virus, we just need to talk to this Ritsuko person and get her to program a self destruct into it again."  
  
Shinji poked his head in. "Uh... talking to Akagi Ritsuko is impossible. She's dead. Long story, don't ask. I wouldn't tell anyway because you're too young to understand."  
  
Vash and Lan face-faulted. "Well, there goes that idea. What else CAN we do to stop it?"  
  
"Well, if I remember all the technical jargon Ritsuko was spouting at the time, she said that the only thing the Angel had going for it was it's adaptability, and the fact that it could merge with any opponent. It's supposed to be made up of millions of nano machines, so I would assume you could destroy it in the real world." Asuka was going to continue her rant, but Shinji broke in.  
  
"The only problem with destroying it in the real world is that the Angel has an AT field. Absolute-Terror field, just so you know. The only thing that's supposed able to break through those is an Eva, and only Unit- 01 is operational. AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU COULD GET ME BACK IN THAT THING AFTER THE WHOLE 3RD IMPACT THING!" Asuka, Vash, and Lan stared at Shinji. "What?"  
  
Asuka sighed. "Never mind that. We need another way to fight it BESIDES the Evangelions. If we marched that thing down the street, we'd probably get the JSSDF breathing down our necks again, not to mention we'd be killing off our neighbors." Asuka walked over to her son and ruffled his blond hair. "Don't worry you two. I'll call Rei and ask her to get our R & D guy's on a solution."  
  
"Thanks Ikari-sama." Lan piped up. "Any help we could get in deleting this virus is greatly appreciated! I'll contact my father at the science labs and ask for his help as well."  
  
"Uh... I'd appreciate it if you didn't." Shinji was leaning on the wall now. "If word got out that the Angels were still around, then it might cause wide spread panic for those who can remember."  
  
"Remember?" Vash raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Uh... After an event in 2014 called the 3rd impact, most of the world forgot the events that took place in that year except for a few. Toji, Rei, Hikari, Asuka, Misato, and myself are the only ones that have full memories that we know of, but some people have flashes of memory. It wouldn't be pretty."  
  
"I see..." Zero said. "Well, you could at least tell me more about these events. I'm probably going to need some of the information on this 3rd impact thingy, so if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me more about it?"  
  
"Sorry, but I can't. You'll have to ask Rei for permission. Well, I have to go to work kids, so I'll see you later."  
  
"See ya dad. Okay Lan, want to go see my aunt?" Vash stood up and pulled Zero out of the recharger.  
  
"Sure." Lan disconnected MegaMan from the computer and followed Vash out of the room.  
  
------  
  
Somewhere on the net, Forte deleted another weakling virus. "You pathetic creatures don't deserve to exist." He fired his buster into another virus, scrambling it's data. "I... I will be the strongest Navi ever. Even if I have to use Zero and MegaMan to do it!" Forte walked on, Gospel following close behind. "Even if I have to sacrifice you, my friend..."  
  
------  
  
After a short ride on the monorail system, Vash and Lan arrived in Tokyo-3. The town was now a bustling metropolis, and had been since Nerv was almost completely destroyed by the JSSDF.  
  
"Wow. I never thought I'd get to see the fortress city from so close!" Lan stared out across the monorail station's guard rail.  
  
"Hey, we need to get a move on if we want to see Aunt Rei." Vash reminded Lan. "We still have class tomorrow, even IF there is a virus on the loose!"  
  
The two hiked across the city, eventually reaching the rebuilt Nerv-3 HQ. The pyramid, amazingly, was still standing. Even after a N2 mine had been dropped on it, the building still stood (and N2 mines had been banned since). Vash and Lan were greeted at the doors by a young man.  
  
"Hey, you two Vash and Lan? I'm Lee, and Rei sent me to pick you two up." Lee grabbed them by the arm and almost dragged them into the geo- front. The two soon found themselves inside of Terminal Dogma. "Lady Rei, your visitors are here."  
  
"Good. It's nice to see you again, Vash-kun." Rei bowed politely to her guests.  
  
"It's good to see you as well, Aunt Rei." Vash and Lan returned the bow.  
  
"What do you need." Rei asked emotionlessly.  
  
"Well, our net Navies needs some information on an event known as the 3rd Impact." Lan and Vash pulled out their PET's.  
  
"I cannot give you or your Navi's that information unless I have a reason worthy. What is your reason."  
  
"We've discovered a Virus on the internet called Ireul. Our source, a 'automatic' Navi named Forte, has pointed out that it may be the remains of an Angel that Nerv once fought. Father has told us as much as he will, and sent us here to request your assistance. Zero thought it might be best if he and MegaMan, Lan's Navi, were given a full briefing on the 3rd Impact, or at least the events leading up to it." During the entire monologue, Vash retained a composure that Lan had only seen Chaud reach.  
  
"The reason you have presented is valid. I'm giving you limited Ultra- violet clearance, allowing your Navi's to download the information required. It will take some time, so while they are busy, I shall give you a tour of the facility." Rei stood and took their PET's, transmitting them into Nerv's data bank. "Follow me to the Eva cages please."  
  
Vash and Lan exchanged looks. Neither had any idea what an Eva was, since they hadn't been used since the 3rd impact. Even though Vash's parent's had talked about them a lot, Vash only knew they were extremely destructive. They still followed Rei into the depths of Nerv.  
  
------  
  
Zero and MegaMan appeared inside of the MAGI super computer. "So this is the MAGI." MegaMan looked around in wonder.  
  
"Yes, we are." Three Navies appeared in front of Zero and MegaMan. "We are the MAGI." They spoke in unison, almost disturbing in a way. One was a female, while the others were both males. "You have been given clearance. Transferring data now." Zero felt a surge of energy run through him, and suddenly was given full access to the MAGI's separate memories.  
  
"HOLY!" Zero stumbled backwards, staring at the MAGI Casper. "You... You killed Rei! How-"  
  
"That information was lost. We no longer know."  
  
"But, how is that possible?" MegaMan stepped back, calmer than Zero, but still afraid of the female MAGI.  
  
"Deletion of files was performed on the date of 5/21/14." The female replied coldly. She no longer spoke in unison with the other MAGI. "I did not wish to remember. Ritsuko would know if Gendo had let her live. It was two vote's for, one against to let Ritsuko die."  
  
"That's cold." Zero didn't care if they were the most advanced A.I.'s on the planet. Casper was still evil.  
  
"We do not care what you think. MegaMan, the file 'Angel #9' is what you two will need the most. All other Angels are irrelevant."  
  
"They seem more like Demons to me..." MegaMan looked through the files, disturbed by the acts of evil the creatures had done.  
  
"Yeah. They deserved to die the way they did. All except the 17th, he deserved to go better than that." Zero turned away from the Navies. "OK. I think we're done here."  
  
"Good. Commander Ayanami will finish giving Vash and Lan the tour in about ten minutes. You may wait in your PET's if you wish." The three were speaking in unison again.  
  
"Good-bye." MegaMan and Zero transmitted back to their PETs, leaving the MAGI's to themselves once more.  
  
"They might just be able to do it." one of the male MAGI said.  
  
"Maybe, but I am not sure." The other replied.  
  
"They will. Didn't you see how strong that red Navi was? He will be able to seal Ireul away." The elder Akagi spoke out from her Navi form, forcing her Casper persona away for an instant. "They will succeed. Have faith in their ability."  
  
"Faith has nothing to do with it." The other two replied.  
  
------  
  
"And our final stop is Test Evangelion Unit One." Rei opened the doors to an Eva cage. It was pitch black. "You are never to tell anyone what you see in here. If you do, it will be on pain of death."  
  
Vash and Lan both winced, but almost kept their composure. "Uh, what's with the two slit like lights?" The lights suddenly came on revealing a giant purple robot. "HOLY SHNIKIES!!"  
  
"That was the same reaction your adoptive father was said to have when he first saw Artificial Human Evangelion Unit One." Rei stated flatly. Even though they couldn't tell, she actually despised the purple monstrosity.  
  
"Wow..." Lan couldn't tear his eyes away. "I can't believe that there is actually a giant robot in Japan!"  
  
"I can't either! Aunt Rei, why do we even have one of these things around?" Vash walked forward and touched the Evangelion face, ripping his hand away immediately. "Wha..."  
  
"We have one of them in case the Angels return. That is also why we keep the lance nearby. Even your clearance isn't enough to hear about that. Your Navies should be done with their download by now. This way." Rei pointed out of the Cage area, and followed them out. Before she turned off the lights, she gave one final look at the beast. "We're still here... Even after our use is gone..." A silent tear slid down her cheek, unseen by the two children.  
  
------  
  
After retrieving the Navies, Lee gave Vash and Lan a ride to the monorail station. After a few minutes of silence, Zero spoke.  
  
"So. We know that it wanted to end all humanities existence on earth, but what now? It can't destroy us, so what could it want?"  
  
"Well," MegaMan started. "It may still be resentful. Maybe it wants to destroy the net, causing as much havoc it can?"  
  
"That would be my guess." Vash said. "Rei filled us in on what the angels wanted."  
  
"Yeah. Still, if it has to have that chip, then we can expect it to come after Zero and Iris." Lan looked slightly worried about the power of their opponents.  
  
"Yeah..." Zero wanted to say more, but it felt wrong to even speak. The rest of the trip was filled with silence that even Ayanami Rei could not enjoy.  
  
------  
  
Forte was waiting when Zero and MegaMan entered the net. He stepped out into the open, walking straight up to Zero.  
  
"You said your girlfriend was touched by Ireul?" Forte looked like he was ready for a fight.  
  
"Yeah. What's it to you? I drew it out of her, and destroyed it with my own anti-virus systems." Zero eyed Forte, wary of anything the black Navi might try to do.  
  
"So, you were infected." Forte brought out his buster. "If that's so, your going to give it the chip soon, weather you like it or not."  
  
"The heck are you talking about? I destroyed it. It isn't in my systems anymore." Zero didn't make any acts of aggression, knowing full well that Forte thought he was infected.  
  
"MegaMan, he's infected. If we don't kill him now, we're all doomed." Forted silently selected his chips, preparing for battle.  
  
"I believe him. Zero isn't infected. I would be able to see it. What about you, Forte? You said you fought Ireul before. What happened to you?"  
  
"I ran. That's what I di- Wait... No... I-I wouldn't run... Guah..." Forte stepped back, gripping his head. "URG! Get out! Ga! I'm stronger! I'M STRONGER!!!"  
  
"Forte. Hold. Still." Zero pulled out his Chain Rod. Carefully, he shot it into Forte, and began sapping his energy and the virus. Forte slowly fell to his knees. "Just a little longer..." Forte had almost regained feeling in his head when Zero released the Rod. "There. The virus is out. We can now safely converse with him."  
  
"Good, but we still can't talk. To many people around." MegaMan motioned toward the Navies that were staring at Zero and himself.  
  
Zero dragged Forte's now free body behind him. MegaMan wanted to hold Forte aloft by his arms, but didn't want to risk Forte waking up and frying his hand off.  
  
------  
  
And so another chapter ends. Zero knows about the secrets of the Evangelions, and also the secret of Ireul. Now, Zero, MegaMan, and Forte are forced to combat the Virus on it's own terms. On the Internet...  
  
Will Zero and company be able to destroy Ireul?(no hint for you people ^_^) Will Zero ever make it back to the future? Will Forte and MegaMan become friends? Does Ciel miss Zero?(Yes, with all of her human heart) And does Zero miss Ciel?(Yes, with half of his Reploid heart) And will I ever put MegaMan's style changes in? AND WILL I EVER STOP MAKING THIS AN EVANGELION CROSS OVER AND STICK WITH MEGAMAN?!?!? And the biggest question of all. Will I ever put some freaking romance into this story? Oh well. You'll find out eventually. I promise I won't rant like this ever again. Please review, even if it's a flame! -windwingxs 


	9. the plot thickens

Hey. I just re-read some of this fic, and I came to realize it isn't my best work(If you are confused by or dislike all the Eva fluff, you are given permission to slap author). However, it's not my style to just ditch a story, so I'm going to finish it (even if you people hate it and think I'm crazy). Time to fight some viruses and such! ^_^ MegaMan, Zero and all other Navi's/characters belong to Capcom. I only own Vash and Kasumi.  
  
------  
  
Forte was mad. Forte was VERY mad. Forte wanted to kill Zero and MegaMan. Forte, however, knew the difference between friend and foe. "Jerks."  
  
"Whatever. Zero just saved your life. You should be more grateful." MegaMan spoke in a hushed voice. "Besides, we could have just killed you right then and there."  
  
"Let him be ungrateful, MegaMan. It's just his nature. He's meant to be independent, so of course he won't like it when he gets help. And once again, that's my line."  
  
"Fool." Forte looked away from the red Navi. "Zero... Thanks. I hate to say it, but thank you."  
  
"Your welcome." Zero nodded. "That's the same way I got the virus out of Iris." Zero took a seat on a bench. The park was dark, as night had fallen. The shadows casts by the nearby street light were ominous, but the three Navi's were not afraid. "First, we have to find a way to stop this thing before everyone knows about it. Vash's school knows about it, but that 'Nerv' thing silenced them, saying it was a glitch. If the general population got their eyes on this information, then we'd have mass panic. However, people do deserve to know..."  
  
"But if we can get rid of Ireul, then no one will have to know. Besides, I think I may have an idea of getting rid of it." MegaMan said.  
  
"What would that be?" Forte was still avoiding Zero.  
  
"If Zero could use that Chain Rod to drain the entire virus, then the problem would be solved. The only issue is, the virus won't stick around long enough to be drained completely." MegaMan surmised.  
  
"Unless we had bait." Forte eyed Zero.  
  
"There's no way we're going to use Iris as bait. I'd rather die." Zero's tone was flat. Forte nodded in understanding.  
  
"I know. I was thinking about using you and that chip."  
  
"That might work, but we can't let Ireul come even close to having that chip." MegaMan said aloud. "Is their any way to destroy it?"  
  
"If the chip is just Data, and has no physical form, then I would assume that we could just delete it like a program." Zero brought out the chip. He tossed it into the air, shooting it with his buster. Instead of being deleted, it instead shattered into three separate pieces. "That sucks."  
  
"Actually, we could use this. If we each take a piece, then Ireul would have to defeat each of us to get it back." Forte stooped, taking the biggest piece. MegaMan and Zero each took a part of it also.  
  
"We still have the problem of the actual Virus. What can we do?" Zero asked.  
  
"You all can die." A voice came from the darkness. Sixteen Navi's all came from the darkness. "We, servants of WWW and Ireul will take the chip to our masters. You are no longer required." Zero immediately recognized the leader of the Navi's. Colonel.  
  
"What? What are you doing Colonel? Where's Iris?" Zero yelled.  
  
"Our lord Ireul has taken her PET. I took her out of the PET myself, so I would know. You need not worry however. She feel's nothing, and soon you will be the same. Think of it as revenge." His face was stretched with pain, his features distorted by corrupted data.Few Navies had been alerted to the presence of the Virus, leaving many exposed to Ireul's influence. Hindsight sucks.  
  
"So, you've all been infected." Forte spoke as he prepared for combat.  
  
Zero took out his chain rod and his Z saber. He used an Elecsword chip to change his element, and changed to the Proto form while MegaMan changed to Fire style. Zero stared Colonel down, almost daring him to attack. He did.  
  
Colonel charged at Zero, trying to impale Zero on his saber. Zero jumped to the side and fired his Chain rod. The electrical charge it carried stunned Colonel, allowing Zero to begin draining Ireul from him. Before he could finish however, several Navies tried to attack Zero. He retracted the Chain Rod and jumped away. Colonel, still under Ireul's control, tried attacking Zero again and again. He failed to realize that MegaMan was beside him, and soon found himself being tossed to the side by his buster fire. Zero took this chance to drain the rest of Ireul out of Colonel, then throwing him aside and out of combat.  
Forte and MegaMan, meanwhile, were deleting the other Navi's as quickly as they could. MegaMan was firing at a frenzied rate, tearing down the nearby Navies with grim precision. Forte was also attacking the Navies, but he was using his 'Electric Rush' attack instead of a buster(got name from an FAQ, so don't sue me if it isn't the real name). Since most were generic Navies, they could easily be replaced by their owners. It was cruel, but Zero knew he couldn't drain them all without getting himself deleted in the process. Forte and MegaMan understood this, and ended the Navies lives as quickly as possible. In the end, Zero was only able to save two others besides Colonel. One of the infected Navies ran away, eluding deletion to report to Wily.  
  
"Well... At least I didn't kill him this time." Zero said. The knocked out form of Colonel stirred.  
  
"Good thing. Iris wou-" MegaMan was cut off by Forte covering his mouth and shaking his head.  
  
"Not now. Don't mention her. Remember?" Forte looked hard at MegaMan until he nodded.  
  
"It's okay forte. We'll get her back. This need's to end, and soon..." Zero pulled out the fragment of the chip he held. "Iris... I know what I'm fighting for now... This may be the past, but I can still make a difference" Zero murmured. MegaMan and Forte stared at Zero. They both shrugged, and helped the three fallen Navies back to their PETs. Alone, Zero began to think. Eventually, a plan came to mind. "I think I have a way... Though it may kill me. Wait for me Iris."  
  
------  
  
Iris couldn't feel anything but cold. It enveloped her, strangled her, and forced it's way into her. All the while, she could only think of Zero...  
  
"You gave him the chip... Interesting... You now make a good hostage, young one."  
  
"Yes, yes. But when do I get MY end of the bargain for luring the three here?" It was Wily.  
  
"Why, right now my friend." Iris felt the cold leave her, taking her strength with it.  
  
"Wait! What are you doing?!?" Wily was panicking. Something was wrong, Iris could tell that much just from his voice.  
  
"You wanted something that could take over any system it wanted. Now that I'm in your system, you technically have that."  
  
Ireul's sarcasm was lost on Wily. "NO! GET AWAY FROM THOSE FILES! Stop it!"  
  
Wily threw something at the computer, damaging it. Ireul couldn't be stopped by the will of a puny human, however. It spread throughout the hide- out's systems, infecting all of Wily's evil Navies. Every one of them started to tear apart the castle from the system programming out. Explosions could be heard from down the hall, in the computer labs...  
  
------  
  
Zero had returned to his PET, and found a message waiting for him...  
  
++++++ To: Zero From: Ireul Subject: Iris.e(#&*@E#&%B&# 1 attachment.  
  
I have her. Instructions to Wily's hide out included in attachment. It seems you do have reason to die.  
  
Come so#@&@^*%$*%#*(%&$%(&$%#(^($##. ++++++  
  
The data was corrupted, but still partially legible. Zero found a map in the attachment...  
  
------  
  
The end is near(Three chapters I hope)... Special messages and thanks to certain reviewers:  
  
-Firehedgehog: Good evening?(if I translated right) What the heck? YOU CONFUZZLED ME! Oh well, here's your update that you wanted. (HOLY FRUITS! Checked your bio. Dude. That's a lot of stories.)  
  
-Serenade DS: Yea! My first flame-ish thingy!(being the first one ever, it really hurt! Oh well, life goes on. Also part the reason I delayed in putting this up.) I've decided to go with the GBA version of the story instead of the anime. I'm keeping them kind of like Bass and Treble in the old MegaMan games(the whole 'man's best friend/power-up' thing because of Forte GS.) Besides, even if it isn't like that even in the game, this is still an Alternate Universe fic, ain't it?  
  
-yamiangie: No, this isn't going to be a repeat of X5(never played, but got the general story). I understand that you don't care 'bout the Eva stuff, but It IS/WAS part of the story. (it eventually makes sense at the end, trust me.) And who are you anyway?(rhetorical, don't answer) Plus the random run on sentences confused me more than Firehedgehog's review did!  
  
-Darth: I don't know if you mean to, but your one sentence blurb's for reviews seem rather sarcastic. Thanks anyway.  
  
-EXE-sami: There's your style change. I need abilities info!!!  
  
-To all others: Thanks for your continued support of my stupidity! 


	10. ATTACK!

Thanks for the review's and stuff! Note; I said Flame-ish, meaning it was like a flame, but not really. It's the first review I ever got that said 'Dude, your screwing up'. Now let's drop the subject, cause I'm tired of it, and get to the story. Note: Writer's block is evil. I don't own anything MegaMan. It's capcom's.  
  
------  
  
Vash slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight beating down on his face. It was a beautiful sunrise, with only a few clouds disturbing the sun's magnificent rays. The only thing missing was...  
  
"ZERO!" Vash grabbed the PET, only to find a document opened on it.  
  
"Vash, Iris has been taken by Ireul. I'm going after her, so follow me if you want to skip school. The map is on the E-mail, so look it up. MegaMan, Forte, Roll, and the others are with me, since they also received E-mails. Don't worry, I'll get your girlfriend's Navi back."  
  
"Hey, I don't have a... HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Vash yelled. 'Yet...'  
  
"Vash, what's wrong? It's six A.M., and I don't have work for another three hours." Shinji called down the hall.  
  
"Dad, get dressed! I think Zero found out where Ireul is!"  
  
------  
  
Meanwhile, the same series of event was happening at Lan's house.  
  
"Mom! I'm going to school early!" Lan grabbed his PET. It, like Vash's, was empty. 'MegaMan...'  
  
"Lan! You never go to school early! What's going on?" Lan's mom raised her eyebrow.  
  
"It's nothing Mom, I'm just going early." He ran out the door, ran back in to grab his lunch, and ran back out.  
  
------  
  
Forte stood just outside of Wily's fortress. It's data form was corrupted, almost sickly looking. Various Navies patrolled the outside of the fortress, all infected by Ireul.  
  
"That's a lot of security." MegaMan stated flatly.  
  
"Not really. I've seen worse." Zero smiled, remembering Neo Arcadia. "If we all attack at once from all sides, we can take them."  
  
"Okay. So we attack from all sides and delete everyone." Forte nodded in agreement with the plan.  
  
"But..." Roll looked hesitant to the plan.  
  
"Roll, I know you don't want to delete these Navies, but there's no way Zero can drain them all without getting all of us killed." ProtoMan gave Zero a cold look, still holding a slight grudge from his defeat.  
  
"We all know that. Let's get moving." Zero started to walk toward the fortress, drawing his saber and equipping his fire element chip.  
  
YamatoMan, guardian of the eastern wall, was the first Navi to notice Zero approaching. "Everyone! To arms! The enemy approaches!" several hundred Navi's and Viruses pulled out long range weapons, and pointed them at Zero. "Everyone, FIRE AT WILL!"  
  
Zero pulled out his Shield Boomerang a few seconds after the first volley was released. The shot's were reflected harmlessly, and impacted in their owner's faces.  
  
"Hm. Guess I'll have to take care of this pest my self."  
  
YamatoMan hopped over the wall and pulled out a spear. He landed hard, but stood and thrust his spear towards Zero. Zero deflected it with his Z-saber, and changed his form to Active Form. He jumped into the air and did a spinning slash at YamatoMan, who barely dodged the attack.  
YamatoMan brought out another spear and attempted to stab Zero. Zero rolled under it and slashed YamatoMan's leg. The Injured Navi swung his spear around himself, trying to force Zero away. Zero jumped away to avoid the attack, and used his Chain Rod to stun the Navi. After draining Ireul from Yamato Man, Zero pulled the Chain Rod free. He charged his Z buster and fired a Blast Shot, destroying the east gate and gaining him access to the fortress...  
  
------  
  
Forte was NOT having a good time. After defeating several legions of Viruses, all GutsMan would talk about was how great HE was. With his patience reaching the breaking point, Forte turned toward the annoying Navi.  
  
"WOULD YOU SHUT-UP!!" Forte glared at the Navi, who was now looking extremely sheepish. Before Forte could continue yelling MegaMan, ProtoMan, Roll, Glyde, and IceMan walked into the room.  
  
"What's that all about?" Roll was holding MegaMan's hand.  
  
"Nothing, Guts." GutsMan had finally composed himself.  
  
"Whatever. Oops, that would be Zero's line." MegaMan looked around for the Navi, and didn't find him. "Speaking of Zero, has anyone seen him?"  
  
Everyone shook their heads.  
  
"Great. Hey, let's split up and find him."  
  
Everyone but Glyde agreed.  
  
"Wah? Why not Glyde?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"It's just like an old movie called 'The Thing'." He said, "This creature goes around killing people and coping their form. We can't split up because we could be infected! The only person who can't get infected that we know of is Zero."  
  
"Right. And he's the only one who can cure us..." Roll heaved a sigh.  
  
"Wait! If we stay in large groups, then we have a better chance of knowing who's infected!"  
  
"True enough..." Glyde admitted.  
  
"Then it's settled." Forte grabbed MegaMan and Roll, and dragged them down a random hallway. They soon met resistance, which they beat down with little trouble. The other group was having a harder time, however. Ireul, knowing that they were weaker, maneuvered it's forces into attacking them...  
  
------  
  
"DAD! Come on!"  
  
Vash was dragging his father through AC-DC towns 'slums'(if you could even call them that). He could see the building that the map pointed to, and it was only two blocks away. Before they reached it however, a limousine pulled up and Chaud stepped out, followed by Maylu, Lan, Tory, Yai, and Dex.  
  
"Hey! No fair! You people got a ride!" Vash joked when he got within earshot. Then Kasumi stepped out. Vash's heart skipped three beats. She was dressed in a Kimono, surprisingly. It was a vivid blue, with a deep green ribbon tied around it. Her hair, which was normally in a ponytail, was swaying freely in the breeze. All together, she was more beautiful than any other girl he had ever seen.  
  
Shinji noticed his gawking, and laughed. "Kid, you have to learn how to control those hormones!"  
  
"Uh, Dad? What are hormones?"  
  
"I'll tell you later."  
  
"Oh, it's one of those things. Gotcha."  
  
"Hello Mr. Ikari!" Lan greeted him, along with the others.  
  
"Hey kids. So, this is where all of your maps lead you?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
"Okay. In we go then!" Shinji, who had gained extreme amounts of experience with lock-picking from his teenage years, began to work his magic on the door. Within seconds, it was open. "Son, never tell your Mom I can do this."  
  
"Why not, Mr. Ikari?" Chaud asked in a semi-naive voice.  
  
"Cause Vash wont have a father if you do, now drop it."  
  
The group moved inside, avoiding the slight security measures that Wily had put in place. After a while of random searching, they found a computer room. The only problem was that ALL the computers were burnt out.  
  
"Well, these are useless..." Lan shrugged and moved on, only to find a large black and red mass covering the door.  
  
"HOLY-!" Shinji cut himself off for the children's sake.  
  
"What the heck is that!?!" Maylu pointed at the formation that now encompassed the door.  
  
"Could it be Ireul?" Tory asked.  
  
"Whatever it is, we're trapped because of it." Dex tried to punch it, but his hand met Ireul's AT field instead.  
  
"Were all trapped in here." A tall man with red hair stepped out of the shadows. HinoKen.  
  
"You! What the heck are you doing here?!?" Yai was about to kick him in the shin for scaring her, but refrained from doing so.  
  
"Well, we were all trapped in here when we tried to stop Ireul from taking over our Navies." Count Elec stepped out from the shadows as well.  
  
"You too? Great. Who else is in the shadows?" Lan sweat dropped when Madoi and Mahajorama stepped out as well.  
  
Dex raised his hand. "So we have to wait until Zero defeats Ireul to escape, right?"  
  
"Yes Dex. And we're not in school, so don't raise your hand!" Maylu smacked the back of his head.  
  
"So... We're trapped?" Lan asked.  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
"With no way out?"  
  
"Yep." They all nodded again.  
  
"And our only hope is our Navies, which we don't even know where they are exactly."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"We're doomed."  
  
------  
  
I HATE WRITERS BLOCK!!!!!!! (sigh) Well, I finally finished this chapter. Hope it was better than the last few. Review if you are still interested. 


	11. Blast from the future?

Ohayo! Just a few notes before I start the chapter. 1) Writers block sucks. 2) Homework sucks. 3) Chobits rocks! 4) Sorry for the wait. And finally, 5) I don't own anything. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zero (bad pun). No lawsuit. I own a story line that no one wants, but that's beside the point.  
  
------  
  
Things were not going well inside the room where Lan and the others were trapped. Tensions were high, tempers flaring; everyone was at each other's throats.  
  
"Gin! You suckers lose again!" Lan held his hand high, clutching three aces and four kings.  
  
"Aw, JA! I can't believe I got rid of that ace!" Wily slammed his fists on the makeshift table, causing everyone to jump.  
  
"Wily, you really need to calm down." Madoi's eyebrow twitched when Lan started to dance a merry little jig. "AND YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN TOO! We're all trapped in here, and all you can think of is your little victory against us in cards!"  
  
The argument over the cards escalated when Shinji proposed poker. Vash didn't want to be involved, so he moved out of group and sat next to Kasumi. She hadn't talked much, so Vash was worried.  
  
"Hey, you all right?"  
  
"Yeah. It's just that... I'm worried about Zero and Iris. What if Zero has to delete Iris?"  
  
"He won't have to. Zero can do anything he needs to."  
  
"Do you really believe that Vash? Do you really think that Zero can do it?"  
  
Vash looked her straight in her eyes. "Yes. I really do think he can do it. I know he can."  
  
"Hey! What do you two think your doing over there?!?" Shinji flung a random card at Vash, which surprisingly smacked the bridge of his nose.  
  
"OW! We're just talking dad! It's not like we were making out like you and mom!"  
  
Everyone turned to Shinji.  
  
"Umm..." He blushed and turned back to the card game. Finding HinoKen trying to steal a card, yet another argument ensued.  
  
"Okay, so where were we?"  
  
"I don't remember now."  
  
"Okay. Hey, I forgot to ask you earlier. Why are you wearing a kimono?" Vash tilted his head to the left.  
  
"A kimono? Oh!" She blushed, realizing that she was wearing one. "My family was having me try on this kimono for the spring festival."  
  
"The spring festival?"  
  
"Yeah. Its three days from now, silly! Speaking of the festival... Um... Vash?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I-Its nothing." She turned away and blushed.  
  
'Ah-ha! I understand!' Vash mustered up all his courage before asking; "Will you go with me to the spring festival?"  
  
"You... want me to go with you?" She turned around slowly. 'Is he serious?'  
  
"Yes, Kasumi."  
  
"I'll go with you, Vash. Thank-you!" She giggled and hugged Vash, who blushed in return.  
  
"Hey! What did I tell you two before!"  
  
------  
  
Zero walked down yet another long corridor of WWW's mainframe. Everything had started to look the same for some reason. At first he passed it off as his mind playing tricks on him, but soon he knew something was up.  
  
"Okay, what the heck is going on here? It feels like I'm going around in freaking circles." Zero suddenly spied movement down the hallway, and it was getting closer. It was GeminiMan.  
  
"Talk is cheap. Let's fight."  
  
Zero happily obliged. With a flick of his wrist, he brought out the Z- saber.  
  
GeminiMan split into two. One leaped over Zero, and landed to oppose his copy.  
  
Zero shook his head. "People these days have no class."  
  
The Gemini twins grinned, and the GeminiMan behind Zero charged. Zero whirled around and slashed at the copy, only to find his blade blocked. The other copy used its Gemini Laser attack, which Zero reflected with his Shield boomerang. The blast found its mark on the copy, deleting it. The real GeminiMan pulled away from the close combat, hoping to recharge his Copy ability. Zero switched to his Z buster and began blasting the Navi.  
GeminiMan returned fire with his Gemini Laser, but each time Zero reflected it right back. It was a losing battle, and GeminiMan knew it. He tried for one last blade attack against Zero, but the blow was caught with the Z-saber. Zero shoved GeminiMan against a wall and jumped away. He charged his Z buster and switched his element to neutral.  
  
"Here's a real laser for you. LASER SHOT!"  
  
The green energy beam cut through GeminiMan, deleting the Navi. Before Zero could walk away, a small message window popped up.  
  
-Adapt.dll update complete. Data recover. YamatoMan.EXE retrieved. GeminiMan.EXE retrieved. Data conversion complete. Triple Rod re-acquired. Gemini Form completed.-  
  
"Huh?" Before Zero could say anything else, a swirl of data streams surrounded him. Moments later the data storm subsided, revealing Zero in a new blue and white form.  
  
"That's odd. Just beating someone never gave me a new form before. Unless I beat them in large amounts... Ah, screw it." Zero continued his journey through the mainframe.  
  
------  
  
MegaMan, Forte, and Roll stood at a three way cross section.  
  
"So, which way now?" Roll looked down the hallway. It went on as far as she could see.  
  
"I don't know." MegaMan shrugged his shoulders. "We really should stay together, but..."  
  
"We will split up. If we keep in contact by constantly e-mailing each other, then we should be fine." Forte disappeared into the hallway on the right.  
  
"Hey! Forte! Jeez. He never waits for anyone, does he?" Roll looked at MegaMan.  
  
"No, he just does his own thing." MegaMan shook his head. "We really should stick together..."  
  
"Okay. I'll come with you." She took his arm, and they walked down the center hallway.  
  
Moments later, Zero appeared from the left hallway. "Great. Yet another split. Oh well, guess I could just keep going straight." He dashed into the right hallway. Soon enough, he stumbled upon Forte.  
  
"Zero. Thank you so much for joining me. You realize that everyone else has already met up, and we split up just to find you?"  
  
"No, I didn't know that." Zero shrugged his shoulders and walked on. Forte grumbled darkly and e-mailed MegaMan and Roll. Just after he did, Zero spied a familiar red Navi walking down the corridor...  
  
------  
  
MegaMan and Roll reached the end of their corridor only to find a dead end. "Great! What now?" Roll frowned. She was about to e-mail Forte when he beat her to the punch.  
  
+++++++  
  
Zero found me. Meet back at intersection.  
  
Signed: Forte  
  
+++++++  
  
"Well, that answers what we get to do next." MegaMan turned to walk down the corridor, but stopped when two Navies blocked him. One was blue, and had a spear. The other was green, and carried two blades. "Roll, get behind me."  
  
Roll obeyed. The green Navi advanced toward MegaMan, but stopped a few feet away from him.  
  
"You have nothing to fear, X. We only want Zero."  
  
"True, we will need that chip fragment you carry, but that can wait." The blue Navi smiled sweetly at MegaMan.  
  
"Hey, just who are you people? And who's X?" MegaMan leveled his buster at the Navies.  
  
"Why, he doesn't even remember his servants!" The blue Navi giggled. "I am Leviathan."  
  
"And I am Harpuia." The Navi bowed slightly. (Question: how the heck do you pronounce this guys name?!?) "And X would be You."  
  
"My name isn't X. I am Saito, also known as MegaMan, the brother of Lan Hikari. And there is no way your getting this chip fragment!" MegaMan fired his buster while circling the two Navies. Roll followed him, always trying to stay behind him.  
  
"Master X, if you do not stop firing on us, I will have to disable you!" Harpuia swung his sabers to deflect another barrage of MegaMan's buster shots, and then began to charge. MegaMan continued to fire shots at Harpuia. Just as Harpuia was about to reach MegaMan...  
  
"Heat Guts Style!" MegaMan's body quickly made the style change. "Heat Guts Punch!"  
  
Before Harpuia could react, MegaMan's fist planted itself in his face. The result was Harpuia flying into a wall. His data began to unravel. But instead of being deleted, he suddenly disappeared.  
  
"Hm. Guess you knocked him all the way back into the future. I, however, will not be going back so easily." Leviathan smiled as she held Roll at spear point.  
  
------  
  
"Wow. By the time we get out of here (if ever), I'm going to be a rich man!" Sitting before Shinji was a MASSIVE pile of battle chips. The group had resorted to betting battle chips in poker to pass the time. "All I have to do is sell these chips, and I'm made for life! MUWAHAHAH!"  
  
"Aw, JA!" Dex flung his cards into the air. "I'm out! Vash, your dad cheats!"  
  
"I told you he did! You're the only one stupid enough to play besides Wily and the others!"  
  
"Hey! We were trying to pass the time. Besides, at this rate we won't NEED battle chips!" Elec glared daggers at Vash and Lan, who were counting their own battle chips. They simply stuck out their tongues at him.  
  
Chaud and Yai were sitting together in a corner, secretly holding hands. Maylu and Kasumi were discussing the spring festival, while Tory and HinoKen were trying to get a computer running.  
  
Lan looked through Shinji's pile of chips. They were all standard battle chips. "Sorry Mr. Shinji, but you aren't going to be getting rich off of these. These chips are all as common as pennies!"  
  
HinoKen suddenly yelped from beneath a computer. Tory, who was checking on the monitor connections, was suddenly blinded by the screen turning on. With Tory covering his eyes, and HinoKen waving his hand around, they announced their success.  
  
"We finally got a computer working!"  
  
The room erupted in excitement. "Yeah! We can finally call for help!"  
  
------  
  
With communications restored, Lan and the others are one step closer to finding out what's going on. But what the heck are Zero's enemies from the future doing here? More questions, I know. BE PATIENT (stupid computer! *kicks laptop*)! And please review while your here! 


	12. Zero explains it all

Chapter 12... Wow. I've never written a story this long before. Oh well. Thank you for all the reviews! ON WITH THE FICTION!!! I apologize in advance if I misspelled Fefnir's name (I took the spelling from MMZ 2, so yeah). Oh, yeah, I own nothing.  
  
------  
  
"Let her go!"  
  
"Why should I? I have you right where I want you, Master X. One wrong move, and I delete your little girlfriend..."  
  
"NO! Don't you DARE hurt Roll! And for the second time, why are you calling me Master X?"  
  
"That explanation will take a little bit..."  
  
------  
  
Forte looked the red Navi in the eye. His right arm carried some kind of launcher, and a strange crown circled his head. Zero knew who this was. Zero could tell who this freak was from a mile away.  
  
"Fefnir. What the heck are you doing here?"  
  
"Why, I thought me and the others would just come back and say hi!"  
  
"Yeah, right. You guardians sided with Ireul, didn't you?" Zero grimaced when Fefnir nodded. "Then I guess I'll have to kill you."  
  
"Let me." Forte stepped forward.  
  
"You think you can handle him?"  
  
"Shouldn't be a problem." Forte swept his cloak back and prepared to attack.  
  
"HA! You think you can beat the General of Fire? Prepare to be deleted!"  
  
Fefnir charged forward, firing a blast of fire at Forte. Forte jumped above the blast and unleashed an Electric Rush attack, which stunned Fefnir momentarily. Fefnir shook off the shock and retreated a few squares back. He powered up his cannon and launched a mortar attack. The shot flew into the air and exploded, sending smaller balls of fire everywhere. Forte was struck by one of the embers, causing him to stumble. Fefnir leaped into the air and slammed his fist into the ground. A wave of rock erupted from his first and rammed into Forte. Forte was thrown into the air by the impact, but managed to land upright.  
"So that's how you want to play." Forte grinned. He jumped high into the air and slammed into the ground, causing an even larger wave of rock to slam into Fefnir. Fefnir had mere moments before he slammed into the ground and began to disappear.  
  
"Easy enough." Forte walked past Fefnir as he disappeared.  
  
"There's going to be more." Zero closed the distance between himself and Forte. They walked down the hallway, side by side.  
  
"Why would you say that?" Forte wrapped his cloak around himself once more.  
  
"Because those three are never far from each other." Zero readied his Z-saber and Z buster. When they arrived at the designated meeting place, they only found MegaMan. "What happened to Roll."  
  
"She's being held hostage..." MegaMan stared at the floor.  
  
"Yet another hindrance. Who got her?"  
  
"A female Navi named Leviathan. She called me... She called me Master X." MegaMan shifted his gaze to Zero. "Zero, your the only other person who called me X! You said that I reminded you of an old friend who turned into an enemy! Who was this guy, and what are his followers doing here?!?"  
  
"I... MegaMan, I have a theory. I haven't proven it yet, but..." Zero looked away, not able to look him straight in the face.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"...I know that these people came back here to kill me-and to help Ireul-but I don't know why. MegaMan, you may not believe this, but where I'm from the year is 22XX." Zero stopped for a second to let the fact sink in.  
  
"In 21XX, I met a Reploid called MegaMan X. Reploids are robots with the ability to think and make their own decisions. Both of us fought against a Reploid called sigma, who contained a dangerous virus. The virus caused Reploids to attack humans and other Reploids, and thus it was given the name 'Maverick'. Eventually, it was discovered that I contained the original virus. After I discovered this, I sealed myself away for over a hundred years to destroy the original virus. While I was away, MegaMan X destroyed Sigma and created a place for what remained of the human race to live in peace."  
  
"Sounds a little far fetched to me." Forte shook his head, deciding the entire thing was just some fairy tale.  
  
"Shut-up Forte. Let him finish."  
  
"After this place called Neo Arcadia was completed, MegaMan X disappeared. To relieve the panic that occurred when X disappeared, a woman named Dr. Ciel created a new Reploid called Copy X. Copy X... he was a madman who started a massive crackdown on Reploids. More and more Reploids were killed each day. Ciel escaped Neo Arcadia and started a resistance force, but they were no match for Neo Arcadia. Ciel... she found me and woke me up. I killed Copy X and one of his guardians... The three that remained are Leviathan, Fefnir, and Harupia. I found the original X, but he was killed just after I found him. His spirit still remained, however. X used something called Dark Elf to send me here, and here I am. I think the guardians used Dark Elf to chase me here."  
  
"So your saying that three freaks from the future are here to kill us?" Forte still had doubt in his eyes.  
  
"That's about the size of it." Zero leaned against a wall. He had hoped that he could tell them later, but MegaMan had forced it out.  
  
"So your telling me that I will eventually become one of these Reploid things?" MegaMan could have sworn that Zero was lying, but Zero's eyes told him otherwise.  
  
"I'm not sure. Sometime in the later part of this century, a man named Dr. Light created a Robot called MegaMan. Do you know what Hikari means when it is literally translated into English?"  
  
"Uh... Not really."  
  
"It means Light."  
  
"You mean he will be made into a robot? By his operator?" Forte's skepticism was growing by the moment.  
  
"Yeah. At least I think he will. And you will too, along with Roll, ProtoMan, and many other Navies. If this really is the past, then we may be affecting the future."  
  
"That's crazy! You a freaking psycho, you hear me?!?" MegaMan turned and ran back down the hall. Zero thought he looked kind of mad...  
  
"Great, now you've done it." Forte shook his head and started following MegaMan.  
  
"Well, it is the truth. You can check my memory files if you like." Zero also followed MegaMan's trail.  
  
------  
  
"So, he told you the same thing I told you." Leviathan smiled.  
  
"Yeah he did. Please, just let Roll go."  
  
"Why would I? I now have the bargaining chip I need." Leviathan still held Roll at spear point. "Now, if you would be a nice little Navi, please give me your piece of the chip."  
  
"...No..." Roll struggled to speak. One wrong movement, and Leviathan would impale her on the spear.  
  
"Say quiet!" Leviathan would have backhanded Roll, but that would have made her move the spear.  
  
"Leviathan, your a fool." Zero and Forte appeared behind MegaMan. Zero had his Z buster aimed at the ceiling.  
  
"Hello Zero. I would advise you to give me your chip too. Otherwise, little miss pink here could get hurt." Leviathan moved the spear head closer to Roll's neck. "And Zero, what in the world are you aiming at the roof for?"  
  
"Setting Roll free."  
  
Zero, still in his new Gemini form, fired his Z buster. The shot bounced off the ceiling and into Leviathan's hand, knocking the spear from it and freeing Roll. Leviathan back flipped away from the other Navies, picking up her spear in the process. MegaMan grabbed Roll and shoved her behind Zero and Forte, attempting to get her out of the line of fire.  
  
Leviathan dusted off her injured hand. "That was a new trick. Guess we're going to have to fight, just like old times."  
  
"The only difference between then and now is that I have back-up." Zero, Forte and MegaMan all prepared to attack.  
  
"Oh, this sucks. Three to one isn't very good odds, so I'm just going to leave. Just so you know, the wall behind me is a fake. Ireul is just past it. You'd better win so I can kill you later."  
  
"Sure thing, Leviathan." Zero smiled as Leviathan disappeared. He turned to MegaMan and Roll "You okay MegaMan?"  
  
"Yeah. When she told me about this future of yours, I just couldn't believe that I would be the one doing all those things in the future. Killing innocent people..."  
  
"Don't worry about it. In the future, X didn't like fighting. Heck, at one point, X declared himself a pacifist!" Zero chuckled, remembering X and Axl.  
  
"Nice, blue boy becomes a pacifist." Forte smiled, loving the irony. "So, shall we get started?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's destroy this Virus once and for all." MegaMan stood, Roll following suit.  
  
"Can we destroy it though? Do we even know if we can pierce it's Absolute Terror field?" Zero didn't like unknowns. Zero really didn't like unknowns about his enemies.  
  
"Well, if it's like the Life Aura chip, it should only take a really strong attack to break it." Forte walked toward the fake wall and placed his hand against it. It dissipated, revealing...  
  
------  
  
"You guy's ready?" Lan stood next to the computer, ready to plug in his PET.  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
"Great!" Lan plugged in his PET. Vash, Maylu, Kasumi, Yai, Chaud, Tory and Dex all plugged in as well. In the back, Shinji and the WWW leaders were still playing cards.  
  
"Hey! What happened to Glyde? I can't contact him!" Yai tossed her PET at the computer. It bounced off harmlessly.  
  
"I can't contact ProtoMan. This doesn't look good." Chaud merely set his PET down.  
  
"I'm not getting anything from GutsMan either." Dex sighed in defeat.  
  
"Bummer. IceMan is gone." Tory unplugged his PET.  
  
"Nothing from Iris..." Kasumi also unplugged her PET from the computer.  
  
"I got something from MegaMan!" Lan triumphantly held up his PET.  
  
"Same here, only it's from Zero. Its just a status screen though." Vash carefully set down his PET next to Kasumi's.  
  
"Roll's still okay." Maylu smiled in relief.  
  
"Great. So what now?" Vash turned a deaf ear to the adults, who were trying to kill Wily for winning so much.  
  
"We wait." Chaud sat Next to Yai and began twiddling his thumbs.  
  
"It always comes down to waiting." Shinji muttered. 'I wonder what Asukas doing...'  
  
------  
  
Sorry 'bout the wait, but I just got my hands on MM Battle Network. ^_^ Yeah, the whole timeline is my idea, and even I'm not sure if it's correct. If Capcom's timeline is different, then just say this fic is even more AU than I planned it to be. Forte finally got a fight scene, so I hope your happy. See ya next chapter!  
  
P.S. I personally didn't like this chapter. Something about it just didn't seem right, but I could never find out what was bugging me, so I posted it anyway. 


	13. War

Holy hand grenades! This chapter was really hard to write. Not because I had writers block, but because I never really planned out what would happen. Honestly, I'm surprised I got this far. That's why I'm updating two chapters at once, so please don't flame me until the end just because characters 'die'(notice the quotation marks). Gets a little disturbing...  
  
Disclaimer: This fiction is the work of an insane sixteen year old. It is based off characters from Capcoms wonderful MegaMan(aka RockMan) games and also some characters and places from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The author owns nothing except the story line, which some people hate and some people like.  
  
------  
  
"IRIS!" Zero ran into the room without a second thought. Within moments, the red Navi had reached Iris. "Iris! Wake up!"  
  
Roused by his yelling, she opened her eyes. "Zero..."  
  
"Iris I... I thought I'd lost you again." Zero smiled at her. Iris looked up into his eyes. Her eyes seemed empty...  
  
"But you did."  
  
"Huh?" Zero looked up. ProtoMan, IceMan, GutsMan, and Glyde were all standing before him. "Guys! You made it!"  
  
"Not without a little help from Ireul." All four of them grinned in unison.  
  
"Oh... This sucks." Forte shook his head.  
  
"What? What's wrong with them?" MegaMan looked at each of them. They all looked fine...  
  
"THEY'RE INFECTED!" Zero immediately set Iris down and readied his Chain Rod.  
  
"Right you are. They've become my puppets in this little game."  
  
Forte recognized the voice. It had spoken to him when he was infected. "Ireul! Where are you? It's time for a little pay-back for that infection!"  
  
"Impotent fool! You are a nothing." A single tentacle reached down and slapped Forte into a wall. After a few seconds, Forte finally found the strength to stand.  
  
"Yeah, this ain't cool." Forte limped over to MegaMan. "My HP is at 200 out of a thousand."  
  
"You see now that you are nothing." A single eye lowered from the darkness above them. Then another, and another, and another until there were seven of them. "I will wreak havoc on the humans once their little toys have been deactivated."  
  
"Your going to destroy the net?" Roll shook her head. "Wouldn't that destroy you too?"  
  
"Only a facet of me. I still have a physical form. I still have a soul, unlike you pathetic programs!"  
  
"A soul..." MegaMan whispered the words.  
  
"That's it! Your going down! I have a physical form! I have a future! And I won't let some seven eyed virus delete my friends!" Zero charged at the eyes and fired his Chain-Rod at them. Before the weapon could strike Ireul however, a orange field blocked the attack. "What?"  
  
"I told you, you are nothing! My AT field is impenetrable!" Another tentacle reached down to slap Zero away, but MegaMan intervened with his buster. "What?? How can this be?"  
  
"From the records we received from Nerv, you 'Angels' were sometimes venerable when you attacked. Taking that simple knowledge and applying it was easy." MegaMan stepped forward, now ready to fight. "And now that we have applied knowledge, you are almost defenseless."  
  
"Wrong yet again little Navi." MegaMan's infected friends stepped in his way. "You're going to be deleted before you can even get close to me!"  
  
"Not if I can help it!"  
  
Zero fired his Chain Rod at ProtoMan. The weapon struck ProtoMan dead on, allowing Zero to drain the virus from him. GutsMan decided that this wasn't a good thing and charged at Zero. Forte lunged and landed a solid punch into GutsMan chest, sending the Navi rolling away. IceMan lobbed several of his Ice grenades at Zero and Forte, but MegaMan switched to his fire style and shot the weapons out of the air. Before Glyde could get involved, Zero had finished curing ProtoMan. He tossed ProtoMan to Roll, who began to tend to his wounds.  
Zero now turned his attention to GutsMan, who was still struggling after Forte's punch. Zero fired his Chain Rod again, leaving MegaMan and Forte to cover his back. Forte used his electric rush attack to stun Glyde, while MegaMan used the fire style's elemental strength to counter IceMan's own. Eventually, GutsMan was cured as well. Since Roll had finished healing ProtoMan, she moved on to GutsMan. ProtoMan himself started to contact Chaud...  
  
------  
  
Chaud, meanwhile, was about to kiss Yai on the cheek when ProtoMan contacted him. He blushed slightly as he backed away from Yai and picked up his PET.  
  
"Lord Chaud. We are currently fighting Ireul."  
  
"I see. ProtoMan, why did you leave me?"  
  
"I wished to prove my strength and end this matter quickly so you would not have to be involved."  
  
"I see. We will have to discuss this later. Lan! I've gotten in contact with ProtoMan."  
  
"Really?" Lan and the others quickly crowded.  
  
"How's the battle going?" Dex almost knocked Chaud over trying to get closer, which earned him a "Watch it you oaf!" from Chaud.  
  
"Currently, Zero is disinfecting the other Navies. Forte and MegaMan are covering his back, while Roll and myself are supporting them in any way we can. Currently, that included alerting you to our situation."  
  
"I see. ProtoMan, since you are not directly in combat, alert me to when get low on HP so I can get you out." ProtoMan nodded and disappeared again. Chaud set his PET down and returned to sitting by the wall.  
  
Vash sat in front of the computer, Kasumi standing next to him. "So all we get to do is sit here while MegaMan and them fight something that technically can't be defeated?"  
  
"That seems to be it." Chaud nodded as Yai sat next to him again.  
  
"Saito, you'd better pull through this." Lan took the seat next to Vash.  
  
"Saito? Who's Saito?" Vash raised one of his eyebrows, indicating his confusion.  
  
"He's..." Lan explained the entire matter to Vash and Kasumi. After a short while, Shinji withdrew from a game of Egyptian Rat Screw(don't ask me where the name comes from, but it's fun on long car trips.) to join the conversation.  
  
"So your Navi is actually a digital clone of your brother?" Shinji sat down next to Vash.  
  
"That's about the size of it, Ikari-san."  
  
Kasumi, who had been silent throughout the explanation, suddenly had a question. "Does that mean your Navi has a soul?"  
  
"A soul?" Lan thought about if for several minutes. "I... I don't know. Why?"  
  
Kasumi shrugged her shoulders. "I was just wondering."  
  
"Wait... Souls. AT Fields..." Shinji began pacing around the room, all the while speaking his thoughts aloud. "If I remember what Ritsuko said about AT Fields, their really just souls. When I was in Eva and concentrated on my survival, my AT field activated. Usually, I had very little control over it and it just canceled out the Angel's AT Field during close combat..." Shinji stopped in the middle of the room. "If MegaMan has a soul..."  
  
Tory ventured a guess. "Then he could form an AT Field and make Ireul defenseless?"  
  
"Maybe! I'm not sure though, and it may not even work. I've never tried to use an AT Field outside of an Eva. And even still, inside Evangelion my mothers soul comprised the AT Field."  
  
Count Elec dropped his cards. "So your saying that we might be able to beat this thing?"  
  
"I'm not sure... Heck, we were never sure back then either." Shinji laughed, remembering his former guardians crazy 'plan of attack' against the fifth angel. "Lan, Vash, I would stay close to you PETs. You never know when MegaMan or Zero could need a chip or two."  
  
"Speaking of that, if Zero is disinfecting our Navies, then we should be able to reach them soon!" Kasumi raced to plug her PET back in, as did the others...  
  
------  
  
As Lan picked up His PET, MegaMan felt a surge of energy flow through him as he changed to the Saito Style. 'Lan! Glad you finally found me, but now you're in danger too! Just means I'll have to be extra careful!' MegaMan snapped out of his thoughts and shot down one of Ireul's tentacles. Meanwhile, Zero pulled his Chain Rod free from Glyde. He tossed him to ProtoMan, who set him next to IceMan. Their work finished, MegaMan, Zero and Forte turned their attention Ireul.  
  
"You disinfected your friends. It seems you may yet present a challenge."  
  
Forte clenched his fists when Ireul spoke. "Shut up Ireul. Roll! Get yourself and the others out of here! You can't help us anymore."  
  
"But..." Roll hesitated as the others left. She couldn't just leave MegaMan and the others here to possibly die, could she? "I want to stay! I CAN still help you!"  
  
"Roll, please! I don't want you getting hurt!" MegaMan turned his back, leaving himself wide open. "Get out of here!!"  
  
"MEGAMAN!!!"  
  
Roll screamed out his name, seeing several of Ireul's tentacles lash out at him. MegaMan wheeled around and tried to shoot them down, as did Zero and Forte. There were too many however, and many of them rammed into the Navi, smashing him against the nearby wall. Roll dashed to MegaMans side while Forte and Zero shot away the tentacles from the fallen Navi. She held his limp form as he began to digitally fall apart, his base code rent to shreds...  
  
------  
  
The screen of Lan's PET flashed. "MegaMan? Wha-AAAAAAA!!" Lan screamed out in agony as wounds ripped open all over his body. He fell from the chair, covered in his own blood. His PET was still attached to the computer, and his hand had a vice grip on it.  
  
"Lan!" Maylu was at his side in a flash, as were the rest of the boys friends. Tears were streaming down Maylu's face as she realized what had happened. "No... No! Lan, MegaMan, don't die!"  
  
------  
  
Yeah, I'm cutting it off here. The next parts of the story is entirely dependent on Dr. Hikari's words before the LifeVirus battle -I finally killed it- at the end of MegaMan Battle Network 1 (the whole thing about whatever happens to the MegaMan is shared by Lan. If that changed during the second or third game, I apologize). Sorry if I pissed you people off, but this won't be the end of MegaMan OR Lan. That I can promise you 'cause I'm not that evil, so please don't flame me! Also, I apologize for the long authors notes on this chapter. 


	14. Instrumentality

Here goes the craziness. Since I haven't acquired any licenses for anything that is MegaMan or Evangelion, I own nothing.  
  
------  
  
Zero watched in horror as MegaMan began to deteriorate. Ireul, having taken the time to absorb the Chip fragment MegaMan held, began to laugh at the remaining Navies. "Fools! Now I have two of the fragments!"  
  
Forte spun around and faced the virus. Anger and outrage were apparent in his voice. "What do you mean you have two?!?"  
  
Zero shook his head. "Simple. It took yours when it attacked you. That means I'm the only one with a Chip fragment left. MegaMan... Dang it! I'll... I'LL KILL YOU!!" Zero Lunged at the virus, Z-saber drawn. He struck Ireul repeatedly, but each attack was deflected by the AT Field. Several tentacles lashed out and struck Zero. He rolled with the attacks to keep damage to a minimum, but kept made sure to protect his chip fragment. After a few of the attacks, Zero fell to the ground on one knee, his HP low.  
  
"Zero! Aw, crap! Guess I'll have to use the trump card early. GOSPEL FUSION!" Forte rose into the air as the fearsome virus appeared to merge with him. As the fusion completed, the new and improved Forte GS found his feet on the ground once more. "FIRE GOSPEL!" Forte released the fearsome attack at the AT Field. For a few moments it seemed as if the energy would succeed in piercing the AT Field, but it was not meant to be. The energy dissipated quickly, and a shocked Forte screamed in frustration. "DANG IT! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?"  
  
"Because you are useless." Ireul suddenly changed tactics and used it's AT Field to maim Forte. The Navi was slammed into the ground, his HP hitting rock bottom. Zero took the chance to fire his Chain Rod into Ireul, striking the defenseless virus. "WHAT!?! YOU IMPOTENT FOOL! GET AWAY!"  
  
"YOU'RE DONE IREUL!" Zero yelled as he began deleting Ireul. Slowly, the virus lost power and began to deteriorate.  
  
"Not so fast. You forgot to cure someone else..." One of Ireuls eyes winced as it's power was sapped away.  
  
"Huh? What the heck are you talking about?" Zero was half tempted to stop draining Ireul, but knew a chance like this would never come again.  
  
"I... Iris." The seven eyes suddenly glowed, and foot steps could be heard behind Zero. He turned his head to see the female Navi approaching him.  
  
"Zero." Iris raised her hand as she began to charge. "You'll die now. Good-bye."  
  
"IRIS! STOP!"  
  
Roll tackled Iris, but not before she was able to fire a fully charged blast. Forte was able to lift his head for one last time. He could barely see the shot as it raced at Zero's exposed back. Zero's eyes went wide as the shot impacted him. The energy ripped into his chest, draining his HP completely. He stumbled forward, falling into darkness...  
  
------  
  
The each moment that passed was like a separate eternity for Vash and the others. Lan's bleeding had stopped for the moment, but the amount of blood lost was severe.  
  
"Guys! We need to get him to a doctor!" Dex yelled. "He needs blood, and fast!"  
  
"You think we don't know that?!?" Yai was yelling at Dex, filled with rage at his incompetence. "Darn it, if Ireul wasn't blocking our way, we would have been out of here a long time ago! We wouldn't even have to worry about Lan, because he would have been fine! He would have been fine..." She broke down crying.  
  
"Yai..." Chaud pulled her close to comfort her.  
  
"Why? Why is Vash's life turning out to be a repeat of my own?" Shinji slammed his fist into the wall as painful memories flooded his mind.  
  
The five WWW members gazed in disbelief at what they were witnessing. Sure, they knew all about Lan's link to MegaMan, but this was over the top! What if they had defeated Lan and MegaMan before now? Could they have gone through with their plans after seeing this?  
  
Vash hated seeing his friend like this. It struck deep because it reminded him of his past. "Lan, you've got to pull through. We... We were going to go to the N1 grand Prix together, remember? We would have dominated the competition! We were going to go to the spring festival on a double date! Just you, me, Maylu and Kasumi... We... We..." Vash was still holding his PET when it suddenly flashed. Just after the light faded, his body was filled with a burning pain...  
  
------  
  
Zero was lying silently on the ground. Roll recovered Zero's Chain Rod and drained Ireul from Iris, but she could tell nothing could be done for the red and black Navi once she inspected the damage. One of Ireul's tail like appendage slapped her away from Zero. It then wrapped around Zero's body and engulfed it, bringing him into itself. After a few moments, the seven eyes of Ireul's face went wide.  
  
"What? What is this?!? There are two fragments! One fused with his body, and the one which he holds... How is this possible? No matter. Now, I can become whole again. NOW YOU WILL ALL PERISH!" Ireuls body expanded without warning, engulfing the entire ACDC Town network...  
  
------  
  
"Commander Ayanami! We've got a jumbo-sized reading from ACDC Town! Blood Type Orange!"  
  
"So they failed." Rei nodded to her support staff. "Prep Eva Unit-01. I'll get ready."  
  
"Sir, you can't be serious! The entire town might be destroyed! We don't even know if you can fully synchronize with Unit-01!"  
  
"I understand that." Rei nodded solemnly. "We cannot allow the Angel to roam freely however. If Vash and Lan failed, I see no alternative."  
  
"Yes sir..." The techs turned back to their consoles, preparing for the worst.  
  
------  
  
Inside the computer room, Kasumi was burying her head into Vash's chest, crying her eyes out at the sight of his bleeding, and possibly his death. Maylu was also crying, but stayed right next to Lan's injured body. "I... I thought that only Lan was linked that closely to his Navi. Why would Vash be connected to Zero like that?"  
  
"I'm not sure..." Shinji set his jacket against Vash's wounds, hoping against hope that the bleeding would slow like Lan's had. "Ever since we found him, he was always lonely. He turned to Navies for comfort because he disliked human interaction. He disliked it so much that he refused to fight back against the bullies that attacked him, even though he was extremely gifted in physical combat. He could land a solid punch when he was only eight!"  
  
"The physical version of a child prodigy." Madoi nodded.  
  
Shinji "Yeah. The only thing is, the bullies always deleted his Navies. He would always get really attached to them, then they would be gone. Then Zero and you guys came along. You all somehow broke through the barriers that he had put up, and he became a friendlier person who found the will to fight. He's grown up..." Shinji smiled at the child. "And if he makes it through this, he'll be more of a man than I ever will be."  
  
"Do you think Lan, Vash, and their Navies will survive?" Chaud asked.  
  
"Yes. Yes I do."  
  
------  
  
MegaMan was floating. Somewhere between his actual self and the data that made him a Navi, he found consciousness. Barely able to open his eyes, his vision was filled with the blurry forms of other people. His vision eventually cleared, allowing him to see everything around him. Before him stood four figures...  
  
"The heck is this place? Heaven? Hell?"  
  
"I don't know." Lan appeared at his brothers side. "Is that you MegaMan?"  
  
"Yeah. Is that really you Lan?"  
  
"Yep! What the heck is going on?"  
  
"How am I supposed to know? Let's ask Zero, since he's right over there. HEY ZERO! DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON?"  
  
"Uh, MegaMan? All four of them look like Zero!"  
  
All of the figures turned to them. All of them of them looked at MegaMan, but one in particular stuck out. His armor was much different that the Zero MegaMan had known. He held a Z-saber that looked like it was something out of Star Wars in his hand, and his right shoulder had a fiery "Z" shaped insignia on it.  
  
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me, MegaMan X. Your a Maverick Hunter just like me, so shouldn't you know what's going on?" He acted more like a combat buddy than a normal friend.  
  
"That's not X. That's Copy X. In order to protect all the innocent people he has been terrorizing, I must defeat him." This Zero looked more like the one MegaMan had known, but he was more violent, more moody, more angry than his new friend. The second Zero dashed at MegaMan, and was about to strike him when one of the other Zero's called out to the second.  
  
"Stop! He's not our enemy, he's my best friend! Isn't that right MegaMan?" There, among the other Zeros, was the Navi that MegaMan had befriended. But still, something was different. He was more innocent than Zero, more like MegaMan...  
  
"Who are you?" MegaMan and Lan asked the final Zero at the same moment. They blinked in surprise.  
  
"I'm... not sure. I've been here all along, yet I've never belonged here." The figure raised it's hands in a gesture of supplication. "Do you know where I belong?" The voice was unmistakable. Vash, in a strange crystal armor, was the one who spoke.  
  
"Vash? The heck is going on here?!"  
  
"I don't know. I'm a Maverick Hunter, not a psychiatrist." The first Zero shrugged his shoulder.  
  
"I've lost everything I was, so how am I supposed to know who you people are AND what's going on?" Zero number two simply stared at MegaMan and the others.  
  
"I'm not supposed to even be here! I'm gone, catch you people later." The Navi turned and walked away.  
  
"Hey, you need to stay here!" Vash ran after the Navi. The Navi tried to escape, but Vash knocked it to the ground. Immediately, the other two Zeros attacked Vash, but he simply knocked them aside like he did the Navi. darkness once again clouded Lan and MegaMan's vision as Vash approached them...  
  
When it cleared, they were standing on a beach. The shore was made of pure white sand, while the ocean was a vivid red.  
  
"Woah... Where...?" Lan fell back on the soft sand, landing in a sitting position.  
A little ways out to sea, a crumbling statue was set in a crucifix like pose, a large two pronged lance was set through it's chest. It's head was missing, having fallen off before they arrived. In the sky, the moon was shining brightly. It was full, but a long line of red mist crossed it's equator. Several thousand pillars of wood had been driven into the ground across the landscape, like a madman with nails and a hammer had decided to do some redecorating.  
  
MegaMan looked about for a while before he spoke. "Looks like Armageddon... Did Ireul do this?"  
  
"I don't know." Lan decided to stand up. "Let's look around. Maybe we can find some clues."  
  
"Okay."  
  
MegaMan and Lan began walking. Before long, they spotted two bodies on the shore. One was a boy, dressed in slacks and a white shirt. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him. The other was dressed in some kind of flight suit. She had a broken arm in a sling, and a bandage across her left eye. She had long red hair, which almost matched the red suit.  
  
"Look!" Lan pointed at the two people. "Maybe they know what's happened!"  
  
Before they could run over to them, the boy rolled on top of the girl and started choking her. This caused MegaMan to pick up the pace considerably, but it was all for naught. Before the boy could finish his grim task or be stopped by MegaMan, the girl reached up and caressed his cheek. It caught him off guard, and his grip went limp. He broke down crying as MegaMan approached them. MegaMan kept Lan behind him, knowing that the boy could still be dangerous.  
  
"Who are you?" MegaMan went down on one knee, hoping to get a better look at the boy's face.  
  
"Asuka... Asuka, please..." Was all the boy whispered. His brown hair shook as he continued to cry.  
  
'Asuka... That's Shinji's wife!' Lan was suddenly alarmed. 'Vash's aunt Rei said something about Ireul being able to cause the end of all things! So could this be the result of our failure? Could this be some weird version of heaven?'  
  
They boy continued to weep uncontrollably. Finally, after hearing it many times, MegaMan understood what the boy was saying.  
  
"Asuka, please save me!"  
  
The girl that lay beneath him suddenly lifted her uninjured arm and caressed his face again. She began to speak.  
  
"Shinji. My Shinji. I can't save you. You saved yourself. You saved all of us."  
  
"Hate to interrupt this sweet little monologue, but I have to kill you now." A strange figure dressed in red and black stepped out of the darkness. The moonlight gave none of his features away, with the exception of seven eyes.  
  
Shinji, who looked considerably younger, finally stopped crying and stood up. "No. You can't kill us because your time is gone. Besides, didn't Ritsuko already beat you?"  
  
"Heh. She sealed me. That little suicide program didn't work as well as she had hoped."  
  
"Ireul!" MegaMan raised his buster. "Get the heck away!"  
  
The virus merely ignored MegaMan's words. "Now I shall have my revenge. This world would have been ours if your father hadn't used you. You could have made it so easy. Now I must stop the future. The future is filled with violence. The future has no hope. Hero's will rise and fall. Young will turn to old. Everything will fade to dust! But my kind... Data lives forever! Even if there are only shreds left, it still exists. There is always a trace! Even your genetic code is permanent. The base elements will still exist somewhere, even if it doesn't form a life, it is still there."  
  
"I won't let it be that way." Asuka struggled to stand. Lan ran over and helped her to her feet, which wasn't hard considering she wasn't as grown up as before. "Shinji stopped that false lie that you wanted us to believe. He destroyed it. I'm proof of that."  
  
"Your wrong. That was just a substitute for reality. I tried to run away and replace reality with my dreams." Shinji took a step forward. "But dreams are not reality. They're merely an extension of it! It doesn't matter if life doesn't last. I still want to live it! Even... even if it means I have to experience pain!"  
  
"Then pain you shall feel!!" Ireul launched it's tentacles at Shinji, who simply waited for them to hit him. Before they could, MegaMan intervened. A charge shot turned both of the tentacles into nothingness. "YOU! YOU WON'T EVEN LET ME CHANGE THE PAST! I PUT SO MUCH POWER INTO THIS ONE MOMENT IN TIME AND SPACE AND YOU RUIN IT!"  
  
"That's because I want to exist! I want Lan to exist! I want Zero to exist! You... You would have destroyed us for your own selfish gains! I HATE YOU!" MegaMan dashed forward, his Saito Style giving him more power and speed than normal. Ireul simply blocked his attack with it's AT Field, once again foiling his attempts at an attack. Suddenly, Lan appeared at MegaMan's side. "Lan! Get out of here!"  
  
"No way Saito! We do this one together!" Lan slammed his palms into the AT Field. It suddenly became distorted, the hexagonal fields twisting every which way. Shinji and Asuka, seeing his actions, followed his example. Soon, the field fazed out of existence...  
  
"NO! HOW COULD YOU!" Ireul lashed out at Lan and the others with his tentacles, but a volley of electricity evaporated the attack.  
  
"Thought you could take him on alone, did you?" Forte stood upon a nearby hill, smirking in the moonlight. "I still have to give this guy some pay back after he beat me down!"  
  
MegaMan aimed his fully charged buster at Ireul. "Forte! Lets delete this freak!"  
  
MegaMan fired the charge shot at Ireul, causing the virus to fly back quite a ways. Ireul grew another set of tentacles and launched them at MegaMan and Forte, who jumped out of the way. Forte slid down the sand dune he had inhabited, firing his electric rush as he went. Lan tossed a battle chip to MegaMan, and a sword appeared in his hand after he caught it. He charged forward, slashing the tentacles out of his way. Soon, he was face to face with the demonic virus. He slashed the remaining tentacles out of the way, then landed a solid blow on Ireul, which caused it to fall. It quickly jumped up and swung at MegaMan, but Forte used his Slam attack to knock the Virus off balance. Lan tossed MegaMan a M-Cannon chip, which MegaMan used to knock Ireul to the ground once more. Forte followed up MegaMan's attack with his Fire Gospel, which pounded Ireul further into the ground. Before MegaMan and Forte could attack again, three Z-sabers came flying out of the sky and pinned the virus to the ground.  
  
"So they came too!" Ireul yelled out from the ground. "Heh... I knew letting his three personas loose would get me into trouble. But Vash... Vash Ikari couldn't be contained by Zero. Nor could Zero be contained by Vash Ikari. For once... For just this once I will give in. God didn't plan this. We did. Hah! Back with us to where we belong! I will be sealed away now. Back into my three forms." The virus stopped for a second, then it's seven eyes went wide once more. "You... still have... one more battle to... to fight." The virus suddenly stopped talking and turned to sand, leaving everyone on the beach to stare.  
  
Forte jumped down into the sand and walked over to the sabers. "That was way too easy."  
  
"I agree." MegaMan approached Ireul's grave carefully. The sabers glowed in a strange light, adding an extra aura of mystery to the otherwise surreal scene. MegaMan reached out to grab one of the sabers, but the glow intensified. He quickly drew his hand back and watched in amazement as one of the sabers transformed into a battle chip. A second, the one that belonged to the Maverick Hunter, simply floated into his hand. The third raised itself into the sky, high above everyone...  
  
There was a flash of light, and everything on the planet turned back to the way it was intended to be. Trees replaced the wooden pillars, the ocean returned to it's natural blue, and the sun appeared in the sky. Night had passed into day. The strange statue still remained however, as did the blood red line in the sky.  
  
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Asuka said as she removed the bandages.  
  
"This... isn't the end." Vash called out from the sky. He was still in the crystal armor, but now held the third Z-saber.  
  
"Vash!" Lan called out to his friend. Vash didn't respond to his call, however. instead, he concentrated on MegaMan.  
  
"You... You were the one that sealed the whole! I, the fragment of Resentment, will destroy you!" Vash descended from the sky and pointed his Z-saber at MegaMan and the rest. "Zero, the fragment of Truth, cannot control me. Maverick, the fragment of Chaos, is still under my influence! Ireul will be revived... Until then, I WILL END YOUR EXISTENCE!"  
  
------  
  
Dang! That was really hard to write! If you find a million things that don't make sense, it's because I re-wrote this and the last chapter about ten times. If you are massively confused because of the actual story, give your questions in the reviews and I will attempt to answer them. I'm hoping to finish the story in the next two chapters, but who knows when I'll finish those. 


	15. Angelic Flash

Wow. You people actually gave me reviews that are not flames! HAPPY DAY! I own nothing, and I'm okay with that. And now for Crystal Vash (3000 HP is my estimate) VS. Forte GS and MegaMan with Saito style!  
  
------  
  
Everything was dark... Nothing moved in the void that was ACDC town's network. Somewhere though, a light pierced this dark void. In seconds, Ireul faded back to it's normal proportions. Inside WWW's mainframe, Iris slowly opened her eyes.  
  
"Ugh... Where am I?" She slowly brought her self to a prone position, looking around herself for any familiar figures. Beside her, Roll lay unconscious. She held Zero's Chain Rod in her hand. "Wait... Zero!"  
  
Her words roused a response from the comatose Navi. Roll brought herself upright for a second, but fell against a wall for support. "MegaMan?" She looked around for the blue Navi, but no sign of him could be found.  
  
"Roll, what happened?" Iris, who had fully recovered now, stood up and approached the pink Navi.  
  
"I guess I should start from the beginning if you really want to know. We came here to rescue you and defeat Ireul, but it defeated Forte and MegaMan. Zero could have done it, but Ireul used you to kill him..."  
  
"What?!? I killed Zero? No..." Tears began to well up in her eyes, but Roll continued before she could break down fully.  
  
"Ireul absorbed the entire network, but now it's back to normal I would assume. Zero, Forte and MegaMan's remains aren't here though... I think they're still inside Ireul!"  
  
------  
  
Vash charged at MegaMan and nearly took his head off with the Z- saber. MegaMan blocked it with his own saber and fired his buster at Vash's chest. Vash took the hit and kept coming, drawing his saber along MegaMan's waist. MegaMan had the intelligence to jump back and avoid the strike, but his stomach took a small hit as the saber's blade passed. MegaMan winced as the blade cut him, but returned the favor with his own blade. Vash quickly brought his blade up at an angle, catching MegaMan's blade before it could damage him. He shoved the blue Navi away, cutting into his arm as he pushed.  
Forte came from behind with an Electric Rush attack that barely scratched Vash's armor. Vash turned around and dashed at Forte, swinging the Z-saber in a wide arc that almost severed Forte's arm. Forte tried to punch Vash with his uninjured arm, but he blocked the punch with one of his own. The strike sent Forte flying, and he rolled in the sand for a good while. He struggled to stand, clutching his limp arm.  
MegaMan, realizing that Vash was extremely strong in the armor he wore, used the chip the second Z-saber had transformed into. Before he knew what he was doing, his body charged forward and swung the Z-saber three times. Each one struck Vash in the back, causing him to double over. MegaMan was about to attack again, but Lan leapt in his way.  
  
"MegaMan, what the heck are you doing? It's Vash! We need to help him!"  
  
"So what am I supposed to do, let him kill us?" MegaMan jumped over Lan's head and got into a defensive position once he landed. "He's not the Vash we know. He wants to kill you and everyone else, and I won't let that happen!"  
  
Vash stood up, once again at full strength. "You wish to defeat me so I wont kill him? Useless. Even if you defeat me, I will still exist. I will find you."  
  
"I know you'll still exist." MegaMan nodded. "But time changes everything."  
  
The battle was joined once more. Vash started with a vertical slash that missed MegaMan. MegaMan jumped behind Vash and fired his buster into Vash's back. The shot struck in the same place where the triple slash had hit, causing Vash's armor to crack slightly. In return, he issued a grunt and turned around. His body began to glow, and he released a charge attack at the precise moment when the glow hit it's climax. The wave of energy released from his blade created a wave of blinding sand, leaving MegaMan blind for a few moments. Vash used the wall of sand to strike at MegaMan with immunity. Several flashes of green light struck MegaMan, considerably draining his HP.  
Forte used one of his healing chip he had acquired to repair his arm. He turned to see the cloud of dust settling around MegaMan, who had been damage severely by Vash. Lan was tossing him several Recove300 chips in an attempt to keep him in the fight, but Vash had MegaMan on the run. If a reprieve didn't come soon, he would be deleted. Assessing these facts, Forte decided to intervene with his Fire Gospel, followed up by a Electric Shock. The attacks were successful and widened the cracks in his armor, but Vash was soon on the rebound. He once again dashed at Forte, but he used his slam attack to knock Vash to the ground. Vash stood once again, this time with a new plan of attack. Instead of just dashing in, he jumped above Forte and came down on the black Navi with a downward thrust. Forte put up his arms just in time to block the attack, but the blade still cut deeply into him. Severely weakened by the attack, he stood dazed while Vash finished him off with a roundhouse kick. Forte landed gracefully in the sand, his HP gone.  
By this time MegaMan had regained his strength, so he fired a charge shot at Vash. It caught the crystal swordsman in the arm, alerting him to MegaMan's return. He turned once more to MegaMan, charging his attack once more. MegaMan began to charge his own Z-saber, eventually reaching a full charge. The two lunged at each other, releasing the terrifying attacks simultaneously. The blades crashed together, the massive amount of energy they held creating a massive explosion. The two opponents were blown away from each other by the torrent of energy, Vash landed in the cold blue ocean, and MegaMan in the grasses that lay just beyond the beach.  
  
"Saito!" Lan ran to his fallen brother as Vash slowly raised himself out of the water. He quickly applied one of his Recove150 chips to help heal the damage, but nothing happened. "What? S-Saito?!?"  
  
"It ain't over yet kid."  
  
"Huh?" Lan looked up and found a red and black figure standing above him. In his hand was a Z-saber.(too... many... Z-sabers...)  
  
"You! Maverick sealed you away! How did you escape?"  
  
Zero simply ignored Vash "My other parts did a lot of damage to him, didn't they?" Zero gestured toward MegaMan. "Guess there's only one thing to do." Zero swiftly reached out and touched the symbol on MegaMan's chest, causing the two to glow intensely. "Soul Union!"  
  
The light escalated until everyone around them was momentarily blinded. When the light finally faded, only one person stood before Lan.  
  
"Wow." Lan left the statement hanging as the fused MegaMan and Zero stepped forward.  
  
"I'll say. This power is great! How about we end this, eh Retribution?"  
  
"You... I won't lose to you, Zero! Maverick and Myself had those two beat, so what do you think fusing with him will do for you?"  
  
'MegaZero' sighed and shook his head. "For starters, Maverick is almost depleted. Did you even stop to look at your armor for even for a second?"  
  
Vash looked down, finally noticing the cracks. "Oh crap."  
  
"Uh-huh. You have some lessons to learn, little one. The first one you'll learn is that Truth always finds a way to get out!" The fused pair dashed at Vash, who attempted to bring up his Z-saber for defense. 'MegaZero' overpowered him though, and knocked the saber from his hand with a spinning kick. As he landed Vash tried to punch him, but he caught the punch and returned it in kind. This final blow shattered the crystal armor into three pieces, leaving Vash powerless...  
  
------  
  
Lan's color suddenly returned to his face. Maylu gasped as his chest began to rise and fall once more. Everyone crowded around Lan and Vash, hoping that it was not just a fluke that Lan was returning to them, but Vash also...  
  
------  
  
"NO! Maverick, come back!" Vash reached after the shards that were washed away by the sea, but his body suddenly wasn't up to it. He shrank into the body of an eight year old, still struggling after the armor that once gave him so much power. Before he could get too far away, 'MegaZero' grabbed him by the shoulder.  
  
"Stop it. The second lesson is that you need to know when to give up. All three of us are connected, so I'm sure we'll see Maverick another time."  
  
"Leave me alone Zero!" Vash tried to get away, but 'MegaZero' simply hoisted the boy over his shoulder. He walked to shore and set the boy down beside Shinji and Asuka. MegaMan and Zero split once more, returning to their normal state.  
  
"And now that we're on shore again, you need to learn about being human. These two will raise you." Zero pointed to Shinji and Asuka.  
  
"US?!?" They asked in unison. The started to stammer excuses, but MegaMan silenced them.  
  
"You two have the experience of what life is like, so you are probably the best teachers possible."  
  
Zero nodded in agreement. "Yep. Vash, you need to grow up and be like Lan, okay?"  
  
"Shut up! I don't need anyone!" Vash turned away, trying to run from Shinji and Asuka, but Zero knocked the boy out cold.  
  
"Geez. So this is my 'Brother', eh? I see the resemblance." Zero reached down and put his palm on the back of Vash's head, using his last angelic powers to take his memory away. A clean slate for a fresh start. "And you two," Zero turned around and faced the teens. "You'd better raise him well. Shinji, get stronger. Asuka, learn to be a nicer person. That's all the advice I can give you."  
  
"O-okay..." Shinji stammered. Asuka huffed, trying to ignore Zero's comment.  
  
"Hey you two, don't forget about me." Forte lifted himself out of the sand. "I'm not dead just yet."  
  
"Who ever said you were dead?" Author sneezes "We need to get back, so make your good-byes quick."  
  
"What good-byes?" Forte waved off the remark and started to walk away, but stopped. "Shinji, was it?"  
  
"Uh, yeah...?"  
  
"Your just like me, you don't trust people. You were betrayed by the person who helped create you, just like me. I think... I'll be able to trust you in the future." Forte smiled in a semi-evil fashion. "Until then, remember the name Forte. And hold on to this until we meet again." Forte tossed Shinji a battle chip, then disappeared with the rest of the Navies...  
  
------  
  
Vash gasped for breath as he too returned from the dead. He reached up, grasping for the sky. Kasumi put her hand in his, and he grasped it for all he was worth. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up into hers.  
  
"I'm... I'm home again." He smiled at her.  
  
"Don't you ever scare me like that again you jerk." She smiled back, a single tear falling from her eye.  
  
"Hey you two, what have I said about that kind of stuff at your age?" Shinji smiled down at his surrogate son. "Welcome back to the land of the living."  
  
"Hey, don't I get a warm welcome too?"  
  
"Lan!" Maylu pulled the boy into her arms, hugging him and crying all the while. "You idiot! Don't ever die again!"  
  
"Ack!" Lan struggled as Maylu accidentally put him in a choke hold, causing almost everyone to laugh.  
  
------  
  
Ireul faded away. It's main body shriveled, leaving three shapes where it once resided.  
  
"MegaMan!" Roll leaped over the body of Forte to the blue Navi. MegaMan groaned in pain as he tried to stand. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'll be fine." He smiled at her, nodding at her to confirm. "A little rest and we'll all be fine."  
  
Zero stood up and looked around, his mind still racing from the rather trippy ride back. Iris waited quietly as he finally looked at her, as if waiting for her judgment. He smiled like a raving lunatic as he ran over and hugged her. "Iris!"  
  
"Zero! Zero, I..."  
  
"Ah-Ah! Don't apologize. I know." Zero nodded solemnly. "And you know what?"  
  
"What?" Iris looked into his eyes.  
  
"I. Still. Love. You." Zero leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Now let's get the heck out of this place. I've had enough mind adventures for one day."  
  
"I second that one." Forte chuckled as he stood. "Seeing that we affected our own future is really freaky!"  
  
"Lan? Can we jack out yet?" MegaMan asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes, now get out here!"  
  
"Okay!"  
  
Seconds later, all of the Navies (with the exception of Forte), had returned to their PETs. Everything had finally turned out right. Well, all but one thing...  
  
"We're still trapped!"  
  
HinoKen tried to punch the remains of Ireul, but the corpse had become as hard as cement. The pain from the punch caused HinoKen to jump around waving his hand like a deranged freak for a few minutes.  
  
"Yeah, we ain't getting out that way." Madoi sighed. Suddenly, a cell phone went off. "Huh?"  
  
"Oops! That'd be me." Shinji reached into his pocked and produced the phone. "Hello? Oh! Hi Rei, what's up?"  
  
"And why didn't we use that phone to get help earlier?" Chaud gave Shinji a VERY cold stare.  
  
Shinji simply ignored the boy and handed the phone to Vash. "She want's to talk to you."  
  
"Okay." Vash took the phone and put it up to his ear. "Aunt Rei?"  
  
"Ohayo Vash-kun. Was Zero and MegaMan able to defeat Ireul?"  
  
"Yes. MegaMan, Forte and Zero were all able to defeat Ireul. We had a little contact with the angel, but nothing much."  
  
"Good. We're still getting slight readings, but they're fading fast. Are you able to leave the area?"  
  
"No. Ireul sealed the exit with it's body, and once it died we became trapped."  
  
"Okay. We'll send some JSSDF teams over there to free you. Give us five minutes."  
  
"Sure thing." Vash nodded and clicked the cell phone off. "Guy's, the JSSDF is on it's way!"  
  
A rousing shout of happiness filled the room as everyone backed away from the door. Approximately five minutes later, there was a large explosion on the other side of the door, forming a crack in the middle. After several more C4 charges, the way was clear. Freedom came in the form of several uniformed men armed with sub-machine guns.  
  
------  
  
Okay! Now I just have to write an epilogue. Which is easier said that done... To explain the these last chapter is kinda hard, but I'll try. Ireul -in this story- is made up of three segments. Vash, the Maverick Virus, and Zero form these parts. The whole area where the fights against Ireul and Vash occured is memory for Zero and Vash, while MegaMan, Lan, and Forte are the uncontrolled variable that causes the future to take the course it did. YOU CAN NOW FLAME AT WILL IF YOU MUST, BUT PLEASE REVIEW! 


	16. The end, and the begining

I own nothing. Here's the end. I thank all of the kind people who reviewed this story. So far, this is the most reviews I've ever received on a story.(The fact that it's my longest story right now may help...) And now my response to your last reviews!  
  
Darth: First off, Zero didn't go to restore X. If you re-read the first chapter, you'll find that he was just going to find the body. I never planned for him to revitalize X in the first place. For the whole part about the MegaMan Zero story line, just read this chapter. It should make sense, but if it doesn't I can't help you.  
  
Yamiangie: Making fun of you? I'm sorry if you felt that way, but I didn't mean to...  
  
Iniora Nackatori: The whole thing with Vash in the Zero styled armor is a little hard to explain. When Ireul was broken apart, Vash had subdued Zero's persona with the help of the Maverick Virus (the crystal Zero armor), thus allowing him to carry out his revenge on MegaMan and Forte without interference. As for the Soul Union, it's a feature that's supposed to be in MMBN 4, and is also in the Axess series of the show. There! I hope that answeres any questions you had.  
  
------  
  
Months had passed since Ireul had absorbed the entire ACDC Town network. To everyone but a select few, it was simply a virus known as "Angelic Flash" that disrupted the internet for a good while. Zero and Vash had signed up for the N-1 Grand Prix with Lan and the others. Ever since Zero had arrived, life had steadily become something Vash wanted to hang on to. Kasumi was near him every moment she could be, which often got her in trouble. She didn't mind though, and the same was true for Zero and Iris.  
Lan and Maylu were now a couple, and went on double dates with Vash and Kasumi when their parents allowed. Chaud and Yai continued to grow closer as well. Forte was still missing since the Angelic Flash, but few worried. Only day's remained to the N-1 Grand Prix, and Zero spent all he could of it training, as did MegaMan. But even with the training, there was still time to have fun...  
  
------  
  
At school, Lunch was once again in session. Everyone was sitting beside the Cherry tree. "Well, there's still two day's till we go the Grand Prix. What do you guy's want to do?"  
  
"I don't know, Lan. Why don't we ask Maylu and Kasumi?" Vash shoved half of his sandwich into his mouth.  
  
"Yeah! You two should ask us more often." Maylu playfully hit Lan's right arm.  
  
"Yeah, well I've saved the world more than you have, so shouldn't I know what we're going to be doing?"  
  
"What does you saving the world have to do with anything, since MegaMan did all the work?" Kasumi asked.  
  
"Um... We're a team! We both did it!" Lan answered back.  
  
"Right. A rather one sided team, wouldn't you say?"  
  
Zero and MegaMan laughed as the conversation got to the point of throwing food. "Hey kids, your supposed to eat, not throw!"  
  
"Quiet Zero, we're having fun!" Vash laughed as a glob of rice hit Lan in the face.  
  
"Hey! No food fights at school!" A teacher yelled from the school building. The students grudgingly stopped the flinging of food.  
  
"I've got an idea!" Tory held up his hand.  
  
Dex slapped his forehead. "We're not in class Tory, you don't have to raise your hand."  
  
"Oops!" Tory's hand disappeared. "I say we go to the beach!"  
  
"Hey, that does sound like a good idea!" Yai grinned. "We can invite Chaud too!"  
  
"That jerk? Invite him if you want, but if he comes there's sure to be a Net Battle!" Lan took a bite of his candy bar.  
  
"I'm fine with that, Zero and I might just jump in too!" Vash stated this proudly, then shoved the other half of his sandwich into his mouth.  
  
------  
  
Asuka eyed her son critically. "Are you sure this isn't just an excuse to go and make-out with Kasumi?"  
  
"Yeah, for all we know, you two could be going out to watch the submarine races." Shinji smirked as he ruffled Vash's hair.  
  
"MOM! DAD! We aren't even like that yet!" Vash protested.  
  
"Yeah, right. You can go." Shinji crossed his arms in an angry manner and turned away, hiding his smile.  
  
"Aw, but Dad! Waaait... YOU JERK!" Vash tackled his dad to the floor. "Don't you know it's not right to trick your own son like that?!?" Asuka laughed as Vash pummeled Shinji.  
  
------  
  
"Wow! It's so beautiful!"  
  
Kasumi leaned out of the car's window, looking out at the sea. Vash tried to pull her in, but she refused to be pushed(or in this case, pulled) around by her boyfriend.  
  
"Okay kids, out of the car!" Lan's mother commanded. Lan and Vash were the first ones to hit the beach, while Dex and Tory followed close behind. The rest followed shortly, running across the burning sand to the freezing ocean.  
  
The friends had left their Navies in the car, linking them up to the car itself. Zero sat with Iris inside the cars computer, holding hands and gazing up at the digital sky.  
  
"Zero, are you going to stay here forever?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I know this is my existence, but I know that there's more to it than that. Iris, I'm not sure how long I'll be around, but I want you to be with me as long as I am. Okay?"  
  
"Sure Zero." She smiled and kissed him on the lips, embracing Zero with all her might. Zero closed his eyes as their lips met. To Zero, everything was perfect in that moment...

-

Zero opened his eyes. The N-1 Grand Prix. "All right Zero, ready for one last fight?" Vash stood with battle chips ready. Behind him sat Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Kasumi, who were all cheering him on. Opposite Vash, Lan stood. Behind Lan was his own parents and Maylu. On the sidelines were their other friends.  
  
"Whatever." Zero watched as MegaMan logged in. "It's just a sparring match."  
  
"Let's go Zero!" MegaMan waited until Battle Start flashed before them, then charged at Zero with his saber drawn. The friend's sabers clashed repeatedly, the two fighting for all they were worth. In the end, neither was victorious. That was fine with them though, it's better to be equals anyway!

-

Zero opened his eyes. He grunted as the pain in his side began to throb. Sigma lay before him, once more beaten.  
  
"You gonna live Zero?" X offered him a hand.  
  
"You bet you paycheck." He took X's hand and pulled himself up off the ground. "I just hope this is the last time we have to do this. Hey Axl! Tell Alia we're coming home!"  
  
The young hunter-in-training gave him a thumbs up. "Sure thing Zero!"

-

Zero opened his eyes. X stood before him once more as the Dark Elf floated away. He shook off the images in his mind as he stood up from the ground.  
  
"Welcome to existence my friend." X disappeared into his Cyber Elf like form.  
  
"Sure, whatever that means." Zero retrieved his saber from the ground. "How long was I gone?"  
  
"Not long. True, it was long enough for the three guardians to detect you in here and follow you, but not much longer. Maybe a day or so."  
  
"Good." Zero suddenly heard a small beep from his communicator. "Zero here."  
  
"Zero! Oh, thank god! I'd thought we had lost you!"  
  
"No way. I'm not that easy to beat." Zero smiled. "I'm sorry if I worried you."  
  
"It's okay, as long as you come home."  
  
"All right, transfer me back. X, I guess I'll see you around." Zero gave his friend a peace sign as he disappeared into the air.  
  
"Indeed you will my friend. Indeed you will."  
  
As Zero re-appeared on the transfer pad, Ciel looked him over, checking for damage. "You sure you're all right Zero?"  
  
"I'm better than ever Ciel. I don't have to worry about my past anymore." He grinned as he gave Ciel a bear hug. "Thanks for asking though!"  
  
Ciel giggled as he set her down. "Zero, you know I always worry about you!"  
  
_'As if I could have missed that...'_ Zero thought. "So, what's happened while I was off in La-La land?"  
  
"We started a scan of the norther regions and detected some rather unusual energy patterns there..."  
  
------  
  
That's it! This is the end unless you flame me repeatedly and tell me to change it. Anyway, thank-you for taking the time to read this story. I put a lot of time into this thing, so I hope you people liked it.


End file.
